Why Tyrone Mings contract extension was the most obvious Aston Villa decision of the summer

Villa's totemic leader will remain at the club until 2027 after agreeing a one-year contract extension

If you look at Aston Villa’s matchday squad for the 2018/19 Championship play-off final at Wembley, two names stand out.

Villa beat Derby County 2-1 to claw their way back into the Premier League after an extraordinary ten-match winning run had put them into the play-offs for the second consecutive season.

Dean Smith’s team on that glorious afternoon six years ago was packed with players who should be regarded as Villa legends on the strength of that promotion alone. But two of them share a pair of additional distinctions.

Of the 18 players named by Smith at Wembley, three remain at Villa. Poor old Kortney Hause is out of contract this month and last played for Villa three and a half years ago.

But in John McGinn and Tyrone Mings, Villa have two captains who came in for the promotion season and remain at the forefront of the club as they prepare to embark on their third European campaign in as many years.