SCOUTING REPORT- TYRONE MINGS
Age: 21
Position: Left back / Center back / Right back
Height: 1.9 m
Stronger foot: Left
Market value: 1.5 mn euros (according to transfermarkt.com)
Current club: Ipswich Town (Championship)
Achieving success after overcoming some low points in your life is a popular cliché in the footballing world and Tyrone Mings is a player who can relate to such stories. Tyrone Mings was born into a footballing family and showed plenty of promise at a small age. His father Adie Mings is a Chelsea scout who has spent 25 years of his life as a player, manager and director of football in the non-league teams. Tyrone was part of the Southampton academy which is arguably the best youth academy in England having produced players such as Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw etc.
Despite showing a lot of promise he wasn’t given a professional contract at Southampton as they felt he lacked the physique to make it to a professional level. After this debacle he got a scholarship at Millfield School which helped him train daily and once the scholarship ran its course he joined Yate Town which was a non-league club and took up job as a mortgage broker. Later he moved to his hometown club Chippenham Town and his performances caught the eye of former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy.
Mings was offered a contract by Ipswich Town and he has put in some fantastic performances for the Championship side that has caught the eye of several Premier League managers including Arsene Wenger. Crystal Palace had a £3million bid rejected by Ipswich Town this summer and Arsenal will have to bid at least in the range of £10million for it to be accepted by Ipswich Town. Tyrone’s contract runs till 2017 so Ipswich Town is under no pressure to sell him and they’re shrewd negotiators as seen in the case of Connor Wickham’s transfer to Sunderland in 2011.
Mings is generally a left back whose greatest asset is his athleticism. Athleticism is an important feature when it comes to the most physical league in the world and he has plenty of it. Mings is known for his ability to bombard through the left wing and put some great crosses in to the box. At 1.9 m, Mings also has plenty of aerial ability and can act as a make shift centre back. He is an asset from set pieces while attacking and defending. Arsenal’s defensive woes were evident in the game against Swansea where Monreal and Chambers endured a horrid time in the defence. A physical defender with superior technique is exactly what Wenger needs and he is guaranteed to get this in Tyrone Mings.
As of October 2014 according to Squawka, Mings created 15 goal scoring chances in 11 games and successfully completed 10 take-on out of the attempted 13. Ming’s offensive ability is complemented by his excellent tackling ability and defensive headers from set pieces. The Englishman has completed 26 attempted tackles out of 48 and he has also made 27 defensive headers out of 45 attempted.
An upcoming prospect like Tyrone Mings is bound to have some weakness and Tyrone’s main weakness is his positioning ability. He is often caught out of position while making the marauding forward runs and ends up exposing the defence. Mings also needs to make better use of his height while in the opposition box since tall defenders are often expected to score goals in the Premier League. Tyrone Mings also has to improve his decision making, which is expected to improve as he gains experience.
Tyrone Mings is not a quick fix solution to Arsenal’s defensive woes but he can certainly play a role from the bench if Arsene Wenger purchases him from Ipswich Town. If there is a manager who can make Mings a world class player it is Wenger whose impeccable record of developing young players is unmatched in the footballing world. Though there have been certain flops like Carl Jenkinson and Ryo Miyachi in the recent years, Wenger is still one of the best managers in world football. Stepping up from Championship to the pace, physicality and technique of Premier League is a tough ask so Tyrone Mings must be considered as a long term asset and he must be loaned to a Premier League club to secure valuable experience.
Mings is a typical Wenger type player with his excellent work rate, technique and attacking prowess and he can develop into a world class defender under his stewardship but he must not be bought as a quick fix to Arsenal’s defensive woes as pressure of expectation negatively impacts young players. Arsenal will have to spend at least 7 mn pounds to secure his services as young English players don’t come cheap. In an ideal scenario Arsenal would buy Mings in January and loan him out to a side like Crystal Palace where he can develop into a more mature player. Meanwhile Ronald Koeman must be scratching his head wondering how his club let go of such a promising homegrown talent.