England newcomer Mings thankful for Terry tutelage at Aston Villa

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has praised John Terry's influence on his development from Championship defender to England squad member.

Ex-England captain Terry has worked as an assistant coach at Villa Park since Dean Smith took over in October 2018.

Mings joined on loan in January and helped the club win promotion to the Premier League before agreeing a permanent switch from Bournemouth during in July.

The centre-back earned his first senior England call-up following an impressive start to the season and thanked Terry for his role in that journey.

"John Terry has developed my game for sure," said the 26-year-old.

"I've been fortunate to work with some really good coaches over the years – Mick McCarthy, Eddie Howe, Dean Smith.

"John Terry is just another great example of somebody I can learn from, who has been there and achieved everything I would want to achieve in the game.

"To learn from him and take little pieces of advice from him is something I feel really fortunate to be able to do."

Never give up 

Terry, who retired from playing after a spell at Villa, won 78 international caps and attended two World Cups during a nine-year international career.

Mings values the Chelsea great's honesty and vast knowledge of defending at the top level, which is put to use in the form of tactical advice.

"We watch clips of my game back and John will tell me what he likes and what he doesn't like," he said.

"At the moment there's more of the former than the latter, but he's worked under such great managers that he has all the experience that I'd love to have so anything he tells me really sticks.

"We then try to implement that on the training pitch. He gives me a little bit of criticism but mostly it's a lot of positivity."

Mings could make his international debut when England entertain Bulgaria in a Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley on September 7.

Gareth Southgate's men then meet Kosovo at St Mary's Stadium three days later.