Who is Arsenal transfer target Tyrone Mings?

21-year-old has been a crucial component of Ipswich's great start

Arsene Wenger has confirmed he is interested in Ipswich Town's Tyrone Mings - but who is the defender?

The 21-year-old The 21-year-old, born in Bath, joined Southampton at the age of eight in 2001, spending eight years in their famed academy before being released at 16 when the youth budget was cut while the club was in League One.

He spent the next two years at Bristol Rovers but failed to play a senior game before moving into non-League with Yate Town and then Chippenham Town.

However, it was not long before Mings performances were noticed and Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy bought the teenager for £10,000 in January 2013.

In his first season he made just one appearance, starting in a 2-0 defeat away to Burnley. Last season, however, Mings became a regular in the first-team squad.

With Aaron Cresswell one of the best players in the Championship last season, and impressing for West Ham since his move to Upton Park, Mings sometimes had his berth at left-back obstructed, though he played well when he came in and also impressed when in the centre.

This season, Mings has been the standout player in his position. Playing in all but one of second placed Ipswich’s 19 matches, Mings has contributed in the attacking third with four assists and was even named Player of the Month for September.

Mings stands at just shy of 6ft 4in and is an extremely imposing athlete, he is extremely quick and strong and adept in both the attacking and defensive thirds.

Wenger is believed to see Mings’ future as a centre-back and the defender has all the tools, both physically and technically, that should see him as a success there, much like Calum Chambers has shown when asked to play in the middle this season.

Mings is also known for his charitable work, spending Christmas Day last year feeding the homeless, while after changing shirt number from 15 to 3 over the summer, he offered to buy new shirts for every Ipswich fan that had a shirt with his old number on it.