Unai Emery makes Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres point after Aston Villa injury problems ease
by John Townley, https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/authors/john-townley/ · Birmingham LiveUnai Emery hasn't ruled out playing Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings together in defence after the latter made his long-awaited return to Aston Villa's mathchday squad on Tuesday night.
Villa beat Bologna 2-0 in the Champions League and Mings' return after over 14 months was one of several big positives for Emery. The Villa boss has plenty of options to select from across his squad after the respective returns of Mings and Boubacar Kamara, who both suffered ACL injuries last season.
Mings played a crucial role in Villa's initial progress under Emery in 2022/23, helping the club return to European football via the Europa Conference League with a seventh-placed finish. Left-footed centre-back Pau Torres then joined the club last year and stepped up in Mings' absence, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.
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Asked about Villa's options in defence ahead of the Premier League clash against Bournemouth on Saturday, Emery said: "We signed Pau Torres because I wanted two left-sided centre-backs and two right-sided centre-backs. While he [Mings] was fit we signed Pau and I started working with those players as we looked to manage different competitions.
"In the first match we played [of the new Premier League season] he was injured for a long time. Of course, we don't want injured players, but they are coming. Sometimes for a few weeks, sometimes for a long time.
"Now is the best news I can have - for Tyrone Mings to be available again. Now the next challenge he has is to try to get the same performances he had as before his injury.
"It's fantastic to have him and try to manage again with him and Pau Torres. Sometimes even maybe them playing together. Since last season we played in Europe and we will need players and two in each position at the level they are.
"Hopefully Tyrone Mings is getting to the level he had. I'm very happy with those four centre-backs we have now. With those centre-backs we are in the top 10 in the Premier League with the players we have - like the top seven teams."
Emery added: "Last year we signed Lenglet and he helped us a lot. More Pau Torres, but Lenglet played 25 or 30 matches of the season. We played 55 matches and this year and hopefully this year will play more than 50 or 55 games.
"We will need Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings, sometimes playing one another and maybe they can manage playing together. I don’t know, hopefully if they are giving their best performances then we can do it."
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