Aston Villa's rise to become European challengers has been nothing short of meteoric, with Unai Emery the mastermind behind one of the Premier League's great success stories from this campaign.

Having started the season under Steven Gerrard, his October sacking gave way to the experienced Spaniard, whose main initial goal was just to avoid the drop.

Whilst this was expected to be a simple task for someone of his pedigree, few could have predicted just how quickly the 51-year-old would engineer a turnaround at Villa Park.

Players who had struggled under the previous regime became instant stars, and those who might have been heading for an exit were afforded crucial second chances.

With that freedom and a newfound opportunity to impress the new man, few have opted against taking that chance.

There have been standout players since that impressive appointment, with Ollie Watkins likely to steal the headlines for his fine goalscoring run. However, arguably one of the greater comeback stories given how his form has faltered in recent years, Tyrone Mings also deserves immense praise for his work in reigniting his career.

How did Tyrone Mings play vs Newcastle?

This success culminated in yesterday's unprecedented victory over Newcastle United, where every man in Claret and Blue put on a faultless display.

In a game that finished 3-0, with Watkins scoring twice, once again many rushed to laud the English forward. However, it was journalist Henry Winter who instead turned to the £80k-per-week defender as someone worthy of his praise.

He wrote on Twitter: "Mings the merciless, on the ground and in the air, AVFC defender absolutely dominated NUFC strikers. Read danger, threw his body into blocks, made clearing headers and played some neat passes to build attacks. Outstanding performance. Only Watkins was better today."

The 7.5 rating he earned from that display more than supports this glowing endorsement, as the Englishman completed six clearances, three blocks and two tackles to keep a vital clean sheet, via Sofascore.

This marked the fourth game in his last five Premier League appearances where he had earned a Sofascore rating of 7.2 or higher, truly outlining just how he had birthed such a renaissance.

Emery is deserving of widespread praise for many of his acts since moving to the Midlands, with their unlikely push for Europe sitting atop that list. But considering how only in September the 30-year-old was lambasted by Danny Mills, his work in engineering this turnaround is up there too.

The pundit had suggested: "He’s terrible. I think Maguire is better on the ball." However, with the Villans sitting at the pinnacle of the form table, and Gareth Southgate having watched over his most imperious recent performance, perhaps he is set to prove the former Leeds United defender wrong.