Despite our summer spending on key new players, Jacob Ramsey has emerged as one of Aston Villa’s biggest positives to start the Premier League season.
Villa fell to defeat at Chelsea on Saturday which in turn means we’ve taken just four points from our opening four games as we look to try and put together a good run of form.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Aston Villa impress but suffer defeat at Chelsea
Dean Smith will be eager for that to start against Everton at home this weekend, but time will tell if he has a full squad available and thus we’ll be in a strong position to kick on and start putting points on the board.
While Leon Bailey has been injured and Emiliano Buendia hasn’t been fully fit, Danny Ings has emerged as one of our most impactful options in the final third with Ollie Watkins having also been sidelined by a knock.
We’ve been nowhere near having our strongest XI out on the pitch on a consistent basis yet, but one of the brighter points has been the form of Ramsey to start the campaign.
Jacob Ramsey emerging as key figure in Villa XI
Smith has never made a secret of how highly he rates the 20-year-old, and he has been keen for some time to find space in the first-team squad for him and give him opportunities to impress.
Admittedly, there were doubts personally last season as his performances seemed too safe and underwhelming on the whole, and so it was questionable as to whether Ramsey would take that step to become a pivotal figure in our side.
While it’s still early days this season, the step he has taken to up his game thus far has been very impressive as he is having an important influence on games and is starting to showcase the talent that Smith evidently knows he possesses.
As seen in the tweets below, there are key aspects of his game that are coming to the fore in the side. From his pressing and forcing of mistakes from the opposition high up the pitch to finding space between the lines to exploit and being more progressive and positive with his running into attacking positions.
There is a lot to like about Ramsey’s attributes and what he brings to this Villa side, but ultimately the main thing missing now, which Smith will no doubt be telling him too, is that he must be more decisive in the final third when he gets into these dangerous situations.
Currently, Ramsey has just one assist and no goals in 31 appearances for the senior Villa side.
If he wants to cement his place in the XI and become one of our most influential players in the coming years, he needs to pick those numbers up.
Ramsey is growing in confidence and is imposing himself on games much better this season, and so that is definitely positive. Now he has to make it count and make it impossible for Smith to drop him by taking on a more prominent role in our attacking play.
Some positive things from Jacob Ramsey so far this season.
1] Pressing in opposition half, force mistakes/lead to attacks
2] Finding pockets of space between lines
3] Carrying ball from midfield/attacking spaceImpressive. Needs to be more decisive, but improvement.#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/ss6JCjc0GX
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) September 12, 2021
Jacob Ramsey vs Chelsea:
83% passing accuracy
Duels/won: 13/7
Interceptions: 3
Recoveries/opposition half: 3/2
Loose ball duels/won: 3/3
Progressive runs: 4#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/nefHOcja0m— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) September 12, 2021
