Bath-born Aston Villa star Tyrone Mings named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020

Bath’s Tyrone Mings has been named in Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for the European Championships, with the Aston Villa defender also joined by former Weston super-mare striker Ollie Watkins.

Former Millfield School pupil Mings has become a regular under Southgate after making his debut for the Three Lions in 2019.

The Bath-born 28-year-old, the son of former Bath City striker Adie Mings, has enjoyed another fine season for Villa in the Premier League, making 36 appearances for Dean Smith’s side as they finished 11th.

He’s named among six players that play centre backs for their clubs selected for the tournament which begins on June 11, having been delayed by 12 months due to Covid-19.

Southgate has expanded his squad to 33 to give the likes of Jordan Henderson, Nick Pope, Kalvin Phillips and Harry Maguire the maximum amount of time to be assessed and recover from injuries sustained towards the end of the season.

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The England manager must trim it to 26 by June 1 with the likelihood being that there will be four centre-back berths available, with room for a utility player to cover as a fifth option.

Mings cause is enhanced by the fact he’s naturally left-sided so provides balance in the middle of a back four or three.

Having brief spells at Bristol Rovers and Southampton’s academy, Mings began his adult football career with Yate Town and Chippenham Town before earning a move to Ipswich Town in 2012.

A big money switch to Bournemouth in the 2015 saw his progress disrupted by a series of injuries but a transfer to Aston Villa has subsequently allowed him to establish himself as one of the most consistent centre-backs in the top-flight.

Ollie Watkins in action for Weston-Super-Mare in 2015 (Image: Michael Lloyd/Bristol Live)

Villa teammate Watkins’ rise to international level is similarly unorthodox with the 25-year-old having spent a season on loan at Weston in 2014/15, which he believes was transformative in terms of preparing him for professional life.

After then flourishing at Exeter City, Watkins moved up the leagues with Brentford and then onto Villa last summer with a £28million move.

Watkins finished his debut Premier League season with 16 goals in 36 games, across all competitions, and was given his debut by Southgate in March, scoring in a 5-0 victory over San Marino.

England have Croatia, Scotland and Czech Republic in their group with their opening fixture at Wembley on June 13 against fellow World Cup 2018 semi-finalists Croatia.