Southampton’s 11-year stay in the Premier League ended last season, with the South-coast outfit finishing rock-bottom of the league.
Saints fans must ruminate how a team playing in front of a packed-out St.Marys Stadium in the UEFA Europa League seven years ago will have to completely rebuild a squad that looked like it only had an upward trajectory.
A side containing the likes of Dušan Tadić, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane is the same club that is now recruiting Championship standard players while clearing out their squad as they try to recoup as much money as possible.
The Hampshire-based side was a defensive circus show conceding a mammoth 73 goals (the second most in the league) as their opposition couldn’t stop finding the back of Gavin Bazunu’s net.
The Saints could have been more defensively solid if they were to keep former Southampton academy player Tyrone Mings on their books.
The now Aston Villa centre-back has been smashing it in the Premier League earning him a few caps for England in the process.
Why did Southampton release Mings?
The academy coaches at Staplewood often get most players’ verdicts bang on.
After all they are a football club that has risen from League 1 to the promised lands of the Premier League which was been heavily helped by the academy players involved in the first team.
To think in League 1, Southampton had the likes of Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain contracted to them.
However, with Mings, it was a different story.
The now 6 foot 5 “titan” – as described by Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell – was ironically released due to his small stature.
In 2009, the then 5 foot 8 Mings was told by coaches at Staplewood that he would no longer be an academy player, with his height being the main issue as they believed it could impact his future development.
There was a chance for the now England international to stay with the Hampshire outfit, but Southampton were facing budget cuts to their academy system and the young defender was deemed surplus to requirements.
How did Mings’ career play out?
Life for the ball-playing centre-back was particularly rosy following his release from Southampton. Mings found himself living in a homeless shelter at a young age and had to work pulling pints in his local pub.
Speaking on his time living in a shelter, Mings said:
"I often get asked about spending time in a homeless shelter growing up. I was about 7 or 8 but what we didn’t have in money at the time we certainly made up for with love and support as a family.
"It probably taught me the gratitude of having a close support group of friends and family that you can lean on when things aren’t going well because you can make the best of a bad situation".
Perseverance kept Mings’ goal of becoming a professional footballer alive and like many players who are released from academies they often find their feet in non-league.
The now Aston Villa defender started his career at non-league side Yate Town before moving on to Chippenham Town where he excelled with Football league clubs watching his exciting progress.
The “class act”, as also expressed by Bardell, caught the big break he was looking for in 2012 when signed for Championship side Ipswich Town.
Portman Road would be where the 6 foot 5 defender would call home for the next three seasons as he racked up 63 appearances for Tractor Boys scoring one and assisting on eight occasions.
The rapidly developing Ipswich defender was making massive strides in his game in Norfolk and in 2015 was picked up by Premier League new boys Bournemouth in a deal worth £8m.
Not a bad piece of business considering he was signed for only £10k.
Who else was interested in Mings?
The Bath-born defender was also close to joining south London outfit Crystal Palace and Premier League giants Arsenal.
The Eagles were looking for defensive reinforcements at left-back and Mings was identified as a target, however, Ipswich rejected the incoming £3.5m bid for the Englishman.
Arsene Wenger was reportedly a keen admirer of the then 21-year-old and when asked if he would sign the promising Ipswich player he said:
"He is one of the young players we follow."
Mings was added to the very long list of players whom Wenger could have signed and went on to achieve great things.
The then Bournemouth man would pack his bags for potentially the final time in his career as he switched the beaches of the south coast to the urban city that is Birmingham as he signed for Aston Villa in a deal worth £25m in 2019.
How has Mings played at Villa?
Known as a “fantastic footballer” and “dominant" by former Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard, Mings has had a solid few years in the Midlands.
Last season, the £100k-per-week man played as the great ball-playing centre-back we all know him as.
Mings ranked first for both accurate passes (46.0) and long balls per (3.0) 90 in the entire Villa squad. His average long palls per 90 was on par with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and the England defender was just behind Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (3.1).
The 18-capped England international also demonstrated his phenomenal defensive capabilities as he ranked first for clearances (4.5) and blocks per 90 (0.6), according to FotMob.
It’s safe to say Mings has adjusted to life at Villa Park very well.
Is Mings Southampton’s biggest howler?
The Saints have a proven track record for nurturing some of the finest British footballers and their academy has previously been on par with some of the big six teams.
James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw and Gareth Bale are the most notable names to have been produced at Staplewood.
However, like most top academies there will be a few blunders, such as the now £22m valued Mings
.
Name Current club Sold for Highest market value Tyrone Mings Aston Villa Released £26m Ben White Arsenal Released £45m Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Beşiktaş £15m £34m
White is another absolute shocker for Southampton – like Mings, the now Arsenal man was released for nothing and has gone on to represent the Three Lions at international level.
To make matters worse, fellow south coast club Brighton & Hove Albion were able to sell the former Saints academy prospect for a very healthy £50m.
The Championship side only managed to get one season out of Oxlade-Chamberlain who could have solidified a first-team spot in Southampton’s midfield in the Premier League.
They did manage to get £15m for the then 17-year-old, however, the UEFA Champions League winner could have left St. Marys with a bigger legacy left behind like Ward-Prowse.
The academy coaches and recruitment team at Staplewood can move past the decision to let Mings and White go for free after all they are continuing to produce more promising players such as Tyler Dibling.
What Southampton need to do is try to avoid the past repeating itself.
They have let a few of their wonderkids go with the very highly-rated England youth international Jimmy-Jay Morgan leaving the south coast for a place in Chelsea’s academy.
