Aston Villa's English defender Tyrone Mings gestures with the ball during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on February 6, 2021. (Photo by Shaun Botterill / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by SHAUN BOTTERILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
According to ESPN, Manchester United have identified Tyrone Mings as one of the names to sign in the summer. The Red Devils are keen on shoring up their defence and signing a central defender will be of priority in the summer. A host of other names such as Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane and, David Carmo are also on their shortlist of defenders.
Manchester United are having one of their best seasons in the post-Ferguson era as they aim for a rather shock title challenge. However, familiar issues have surfaced this season with their defence looking nowhere close to the elite levels they need to be in.
The addition of Harry Maguire helped the club to quell some of the defensive issues in the side. But the fact remains that none of his defensive partners have been up to the mark.
Lindelof partnered him the most of last season but there are some serious deficiencies in his defending. Eric Bailly returned this season but he remains an injury-prone option, while for some reason, Axel Tuanzebe isn’t trusted to play on a regular basis.
With the club looking to sign players with potential in recent seasons, they are rightly looking at someone like Tyrone Mings.
A towering center-back standing at 6ft 5in with some decent top-flight experience under his belt, Tyrone Mings ticks plenty of boxes to come through the door at Old Trafford as a game-changer at the back for Manchester United.
Another aspect that would appeal to United is that Mings is left-footed and can slot in easily on the left side, allowing Maguire to shift to his stronger right side.
From a Southampton reject to an England international, Mings has come a long way in his career and still potentially has his best years ahead of him at 27. So, United splashing the cash on the Aston Villa star would be an intelligent piece of business.