Why Leeds should beat West Brom to the signature of Tyrone Mings
According to Sky Sports, West Brom lead several Championship sides in the race to sign Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings. The 25-year-old centre-back has been limited to just five league appearances for Eddie Howe’s side so far this season. He has only been named in the starting lineup twice. It is likely the Bath-born defender could drop down the division in search of more minutes.
According to the Daily Mail, Leeds United are among a host of Championship clubs rumoured to be interested in signing Mings on a loan deal. Others include Aston Villa, Derby County and Nottingham Forest.
Where should Tyrone Mings go?
Championship leaders are reportedly interested in Mings. The versatile centre-back can also play at left-back. He moved to the south coast from Ipswich Town in the summer of 2015 for approximately £8m. However, he has played just 17 top-flight matches in that time, partly because he had to contend with serious injuries.
With Nathan Ake, Steve Cook, Adam Smith and Charlie Daniels also competition in the defence, getting into the first-team has been tough. Now, the Cherries have signed Chris Mepham to further send Mings down the pecking order.
West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa have both shown an interest in taking him for the second half of the season. The Baggies have added Mason Holgate from Everton, while Villa have recruited Lovre Kalinic and Kortney Hause. Both sides also have top flight defensive loanees in the form of Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Tuanzebe.
Leeds have signed goalkeeper Kiko Casilla from Real Madrid and are keen to land a winger too. Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa has had to deal with many injuries in defence this term. Though the Elland Road side sit at the top of the table, there appears to be a fear that should the Whites suffer another setback in the heart of the defence, it would derail their title charge.
Gaetano Berardi made his return for the under-23s after being sidelined since October. However, the Swiss did not see the first-half out before being taken off due to an apparent knock. Nevertheless, it would appear that Bielsa could target signing a new defender this month.
Mings would arguably be a good addition to Bielsa’s squad if Leeds did decide to ramp up their own attempts to land the defender this month. He has struggled with injury, so a move would probably be a gamble. But if he can stay fit, he is the kind of player who could put real pressure on the likes of Pontus Jansson, Liam Cooper and Berardi.
He can also challenge Barry Douglas for the left-back spot. Bielsa has been forced to play winger Ezgjan Alioski out of position to deputise when the latter, such has been the severity of the situation.
It does appear that Leeds are not the side leading the chase for Mings right now. His injury problems will worry the Elland Road faithful considering how many players have been sidelined already this season.
But there is no question that he could have the potential to be an inspired signing for most teams in the second tier. And with Leeds involved in a promotion race, one more shrewd signing could perhaps make a huge difference.
