Tyrone Mings thought his shock England call-up was a prank.
Gareth Southgate named the Aston Villa defender in his squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo on September 7 and 10.
The imposing centre-back has impressed on his return to he Premier League with Villa after a permanent £20million summer switch from Bournemouth .
Mings, 26, starred on loan last term to help Villa to promotion and his call-up after just three games back in the top-flight came as a big surprise.
“I thought it was a prank when I first found out,” revealed Mings, a former non-league defender with Yate Town and Chippenham Town.
“I got a text when I came in from training from the England player liaison officer Emily. I texted back saying, ‘Oh s**t’. Excuse my language.
“She then called me and said, ‘I’m not joking.’ It was only when I spoke to her on the phone, I knew it was genuine.
“Obviously I am delighted. It has been a long journey to get to this point. Everyone has their own journey. There are people in the England squad that have come from non-league too.
“It probably makes it a little bit sweeter but every English player’s dream is to be called up into the national squad. Hopefully I get a chance to play.”
Southgate said: “I really like his leadership. At times we have lacked that sort of presence.”His athleticism is a stand-out and we have to defend a lot on our half-way line, with a lot of space behind us.
So, his speed, his strength, his agility, clearing balls out of his box... I mean, I lost count at Spurs away how many he cleared out of his own box.”
Mings has blossomed under the daily advice and expertise of Villa assistant head coach John Terry, the former Chelsea and England centre-back.
He added: “JT gave me a pat on the back. He is such a great person to learn from. The work he does to help me improve as a defender has been absolutely tremendous.”
Villa boss Dean Smith is also delighted and now reckons Mings is a snip after Harry Maguire subsequently moved to Manchester United for £85m.
Ahead of his side’s trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday , Smith admitted: “At the time I thought we were paying over the odds but it was a deal worth doing because we wanted him so badly.
“It was a tough one to pay but when you look at the market after it and what some teams have paid for centre-backs it looks a snip for sure.”
Villa keeper Tom Heaton was also called-up but there was no place for captain Jack Grealish.
But Smith insisted: “He is certainly not far away. Gareth told me he is monitoring Jack very closely.
“He is too good for the Championship and is finding his feet in the Premier League.”
