Tyrone Mings fighting for Aston Villa place amid ‘1000%’ claim – pundit
Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos’ places in the Aston Villa starting XI are under pressure now Ezri Konsa is back to full fitness, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Aston Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer insisted Steven Gerrard will want as many options as possible at centre-back but Mings and Carlos will be the first choice pairing.
Konsa missed the final two Premier League games of the 2021-22 season with a serious knee injury but returned two months ahead of schedule.
The 24-year-old made his return in the 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar on Wednesday (20 July) in Australia during Villa’s pre-season tour.
Mings and Konsa were the first-choice pairing under Dean Smith then Gerrard in 2021-22 but Agbonlahor does not think that will be the case next season.
Asked whether it was a big boost to have Konsa back, he told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “1000 per cent.
“Aston Villa want options, Steven Gerrard wants options.
“I can imagine the starting pairing will be Mings and Carlos but if they don’t perform, you’ve got Konsa, Chambers, Kortney Hause all behind them.
“He will say to his players ‘Nobody is safe, nobody is guaranteed their place to start, you can all be dropped at any time if you’re not performing’.”
Carlos moved to Villa Park side Sevilla for a reported £29million fee earlier this summer (26 May).
The Brazil international, 29, played 136 times across all competitions for the La Liga side and won the Europa League with the club.
In other news, Aston Villa are racing to sign a PSV star and £20million will seal the deal.