Ipswich Town will go into their next game in the Premier League with one thing firmly on their mind – aiming to avenge the 2-0 loss handed to them by Everton last time out with their first victory of the top-flight season.
That will, of course, be easier said than done with the Tractor Boys currently winless from eight in the tough division, but there have been some encouraging home displays from Kieran McKenna’s men, namely picking up well-earned points against Fulham and Aston Villa on their own patch.
McKenna will need his key men to step up moving forward if survival is to be secured, with the 38-year-old definitely not turning his nose up at the prospect of this former star being back in the heart of defence in an alternate reality to shore up his porous back four.
Tyrone Mings' rise at Ipswich
Way before he transformed into a senior England international, Tyrone Mings was a gamble on the end of Ipswich – and then-boss Mick McCarthy – to bring in back in 2012, with the defender initially on the books just on a trial period.
Ipswich would eventually seek out the young centre-back’s services on a permanent basis, only needing to cough up a meagre £10k to get him in through the door from non-league outfit Chippenham Town.
He would go on to become a hit at the Tractor Boys under the guidance of no-nonsense manager McCarthy, with his second and final season at Portman Road seeing him shine as a left-back, over the imposing centre-back we know today.
The 18-time England international would make 44 appearances in total for Ipswich, as the Suffolk outfit entered into the second tier playoff mix, with one goal and six assists coming his way as a livewire down the left flank.
This would alert AFC Bournemouth to his services – who had just been promoted up to the top-flight over Ipswich – who would snap him up for a mammoth fee – with the Tractor Boys revelling in their masterstroke decision to pluck Mings out of non-league obscurity to them set him on his way to stardom down the line with the Cherries and Aston Villa.
Mings' increase in value
With the Cherries forking out around £8m to seal his signature in 2015, Ipswich managed to sell on their ex-number 15 for 79900% more in relation to the £10k that they bought him for, representing unbelievable business at the time.
Mings’ value has skyrocketed even further above that £8m price-tag, however, as the now experienced 31-year-old has notched up an impressive back catalogue of 158 Premier League appearances across his glittering career.
Date
Value
October 2024
£12.4m
October 2023
£20.5m
December 2022
£19.4m
July 2021
£13.4m
July 2019
£20m
Looking at the table above, Villa would fork out £20m for Mings in the summer of 2019, with his value also once standing at a hefty £20.5m just last year.
Of course, the “fantastic” defender, as he was labelled by Steven Gerrard during his brief stint as Villa boss, has been struck down with a serious cruciate ligament injury for some time now – which resulted in him only playing once all of last season in the top-flight – but he will still be valued as an important part of Unai Emery’s group when he’s back up to full fitness.
Ipswich will just be glad that they had a part to play in Mings’ “extraordinary” rise to the top – as hailed by ex-Villa boss Dean Smith – away from his value going way above the £8m they raked in for him when he relocated to the South Coast.
McKenna will hope the likes of Jacob Greaves and Dara O’Shea can go on to be stars at the back for his side this campaign akin to Mings, starting with a clean sheet next time out.
Ipswich could get even more out of Delap by unleashing "fantastic" star
Kieran McKenna will be looking for ways to improve his Ipswich Town side moving forward.
ByKelan SarsonOct 15, 2024
