Aston Villa have confirmed that Aaron Ramsey has signed a contract extension and has sealed a season-long loan move to Norwich City.
Ramsey, 19, has impressed at youth level for us and was a key part of the England U19s success this past summer before travelling with the senior Villa squad on our pre-season tour of Australia.
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While there was an outside chance of him being involved under Steven Gerrard this season, the club have now confirmed that he will spend the upcoming campaign on loan at Norwich, where he will be reunited with former Villa boss Dean Smith.
Ultimately, that is perhaps the right decision for him at this stage of his career, giving him a chance to play more regularly, gain valuable experience and develop his all-round game at Championship level.
Had he stayed at Villa, such is the competition for places in the final third under Gerrard, it’s difficult to see how he would have got enough playing time to improve, and so this move makes sense for all concerned.
The hope now is that Ramsey excels under Smith at Carrow Road, and that in turn sets him up well to fight for a place in the Villa squad next season.
It’s also possibly the first of several loan moves that Villa give the green light to in the coming weeks, as we look to trim the squad with other top young talents looking to play regularly this year rather than continue at U21s level for us.
With older brother Jacob now a pivotal figure in the Villa first-team, Aaron will be hoping to follow a similar path to him with his latest loan spell, and it promises to be an intriguing stint where we’ll hopefully see him shine.
