TYRONE Mings's value might have skyrocketed in recent years but the Cherries defender insists his £8million price tag does not faze him.

Ipswich paid non-league Chippenham a goodwill fee of £10,000 for Mings's services in December 2012 – a matter of months after the full-back had seriously considered giving up the game.

And although Cherries smashed their transfer record to recruit the highly-rated ace at the end of June, the 22-year-old insisted the sizeable fee would not affect him.

Mings told the Daily Echo: "I'm a laid-back person and it really doesn't bother me. Bournemouth have paid what they've paid and Ipswich were happy with the deal, and I'm just the player in between.

"People can put whatever spin on it that they like but I did what I did at Ipswich and even though I've never played in the Premier League, Bournemouth were prepared to take a gamble on me.

"I think it's a perfect fit. I'm just looking to make the transition as seamlessly as possible and hit the ground running. I took the jump from non-league to Ipswich in my stride and I'm intending to do the same here.

"It's going to be a big learning process because it's the best league in the world that I'm trying to get used to, but it's the same situation for most people here.

"The club has not played in the Premier League before and I think everyone's looking forward to it."

Mings's current position as a club-record signing for the Premier League new boys is all the more incredible given that three years ago he was on the cusp of giving up football for good.

Then a semi-professional player at Southern League Yate, Mings went on to join Chippenham in September 2012 and within four months had been snapped up by Ipswich, jumping five divisions in the process.

It is a fairytale that might never have happened had Mings not shed his L-plates while at Yate.

"I couldn't drive back then so I was getting buses, trains and lifts to training," said Mings.

"I wasn't enjoying it at all and I thought, 'I can't do this for another year'. I was seriously looking at packing it in.

"I was earning more money being a mortgage advisor than I was playing football and there was a big part of me that didn't want to go back to pre-season.

"Fortunately, I passed my driving test the day before pre-season started so that made it a little bit easier.

"I already had a car lined up so maybe you could call it fate but my family were also a big part of keeping me going and motivated - and it was a good decision to carry on in the end."

Meanwhile, Cherries under-21s will travel to face their counterparts from Arsenal in a behind-closed-doors friendly this afternoon.