Tyrone Mings went off injured in the 1-4 defeat to Leicester City the weekend. News has since started to surface that the England international will be out until the new year with a hamstring injury.
Mings has become a firm fans favourite since his initial loan move from Bournemouth last season. Since then he has gone on to sign a permanent deal with Villa and make his debut for England.
Over the course of the start of the season, Mings has made the odd slip-up, losing possession which has gone on to cost his side goals. Fans even questioned if the defender needed a break and wanted to see others given an opportunity. This injury will offer this opportunity for others but can they take it?
Ezri Konsa
Konsa, like Mings, is a signing that arrived in the summer from Brentford. His chances were limited, to begin with as manager Dean Smith opted for the partnership of Mings and Bjorn Engels.
When Engels picked up an injury the 22-year-old stepped in and hasn’t looked back. Konsa has gone on to make 5 appearances in the Premier League and make the position his own. Despite his young age and lack of football at the top level, the youngster has not looked out of sorts in the first team.
Bjorn Engels
Engels is the natural replacement for Mings. As I already touched upon, he was Smith’s first choice but lost his place to injury. He came on for Mings in the defeat to Leicester.
Many Villa fans, myself included, believe that the Belgian defender is the best centre half at the club. Despite Konsa not doing much wrong during his time in the first team, Villa did look stronger when Engels was in the team.
The 25-year-old has made 10 appearances for Villa so far.
James Chester
Club captain, James Chester is back in training and will be waiting for his opportunity. Chester has been a fan favourite at the club for his never say die attitude and playing through an injury that could have so easily finished his career under Steve Bruce.
The 30-year-old hasn’t had many look in’s under the current management but there is still a role for him at the club according to Smith.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the fan favourite with younger options available at the club these days.
Kortney Hause
Hause saw his loan deal made permanent during the summer after impressing and helping Villa to get promoted last season. Although I wasn’t surprised to see this happen, I was then surprised by the number of defenders that followed him.
His appearances have been limited to the cup only this season and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was given a loan deal away from the club in January, depending on what happens with Chester.
Verdict
It is a big opportunity for everyone with Mings being injured at such a crucial stage of the season. I fully expect Engels to naturally take Mings’ position with the others hoping for chances from the bench or in the cup competitions.
Smith has openly said that we need to improve defensively. He went on to say that structurally and individually it wasn’t good enough against Leicester so it is the perfect time for someone to step up and make a claim to make the position their own.
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