Aston Villa captaincy is still undecided ahead of new season – report
Aston Villa could change their captain for next season after a single campaign being led by Tyrone Mings, according to the Claret and Blue podcast.
Mings replaced Jack Grealish as skipper after the former Villa hero headed to Manchester City but had an underwhelming first season as captain.
His spotty form prompted Steven Gerrard to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla, and Ashley Preece told the latest edition of the Claret and Blue podcast (14:50) that he could now lose his armband.
“I asked Steven Gerrard about the captaincy, and he said it’s still up for grabs, that there’s two or three that are still in the frame,” he said.
Villa have already used vice-captain John McGinn and goalkeeper Emi Martinez as skippers this summer, although Mings had the armband for the summer opener against Walsall.
Who should have it?
With Carlos’ arrival, Mings has suddenly found himself fighting for the right to start after being one of the first names on the team sheet for the last three-and-a-half years.
Preece also revealed that the England international will not start against Manchester United on Saturday morning (23 July), with Ezri Konsa being favoured.
The Birmingham Mail journalist put that down to Konsa needing minutes to recover from injury, but the timing could spell trouble for Mings.
With Villa being so late in their pre-season schedule, Gerrard is moving towards his strongest line-up and leaving Mings out now could indicate that he does not feature in it.
That just leaves McGinn and Martinez to fight for the armband, though there is currently a cloud hanging over the former after he caused an injury scare to 16-year-old Archie Gray in a friendly against Leeds.
However, the more pressing issue with McGinn is the same as Mings, it’s how often he is likely to feature next season.
Villa are in the market for a new midfielder and with Boubacar Kamara arriving on big money and Jacob Ramsey being the club’s new hometown hero, McGinn is the obvious one to drop out.
That leaves Martinez as the best candidate to replace Mings as skipper as he is guaranteed to start, has displayed incredible devotion and love for Villa and is a very good leader.
While it would be a shame to see Mings lose his place in the team and his armband, Martinez deserves this chance.
In other Aston Villa news, Alisha Lehmann has signed a new contract with the women’s team.