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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
It is well known that Aston Villa splashed the cash this summer.
12 players have arrived. £144.5m has been spent. Comparisons to Fulham have been made.
On Friday night, the west Midlands club put some of those ‘doing a Fulham’ doubts to bed by defeating Everton 2-0 at Villa Park, who themselves had not conceded a goal in the Premier League before then.
Club-record signing Wesley, who commanded £22m of that total spend, scored his first for the club whilst playoff hero Anwar El Ghazi nabbed a second in the game’s dying stages.
Most notably, Villa kept their first clean sheet of the season with the partnership of Tyrone Mings and Bjorn Engels probably deserving better than just the one from their three opening games.
One of the biggest question marks this summer was surrounding Mings, who re-joined the club following a successful loan spell last season – his arrival coincided with a record ten straight wins to launch them into the playoffs, which they ultimately went on to win.
Mings’ time in the Premier League has been nothing to shout about in the past, having made just 17 appearances across four seasons on the south coast, but the £20m that looked like an awful lot for someone with so little top-flight success now looks worth every last penny.
On the chalkboard
It may only be three points from three games with five goals conceded, but the 6 foot 5 colossus has made measures to justify his price tag.
His statistics for the season to date are rather impressive – he is averaging 10.7 clearances per game, which is first in the league, with 15 of his 32 being headed clearances – also more than anyone else in the top-flight.
The 26-year-old is second for blocks per match at 2.3, only bettered by Arsenal’s David Luiz, whilst he has rated well both in interceptions per game (1.7) and aerial duels won (3.3), per WhoScored.
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His performances from last season as well as his early showings in the Premier League this campaign have earned the attention of England boss Gareth Southgate, who was in attendance on Friday.
Mings was undoubtedly one of the catalysts to that outstanding winning run and even though there is still a long way to go in this season, the early signs are encouraging in proving he was worth every bit of that high price tag.
Under the stewardship of John Terry, a Premier League great for Chelsea, he will surely only mature further and get better as he enters the peak years of his career.
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