As Jacob Ramsey continues to deservedly earn rave reviews, the Aston Villa youngster is proving that he can mature and develop into a fundamental figure under Steven Gerrard.
Villa fans have long known about the potential and talent that the 20-year-old possesses, and a significant amount of credit must go to our former boss Dean Smith, who always believed in Ramsey’s ability to become a top player and was never shy in communicating that belief in him.
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A short loan spell at Doncaster Rovers was a key stop in his development, but having been given chances early on to impress at Villa in the first-team, Ramsey’s improvement has been exceptional this season.
From failing to provide a single goal or assist in 22 appearances in the Premier League last season, the Villa youngster now has five goals and an assist in 20 league outings so far in this campaign.
That in itself tells a story about how far he has already come, and the signs suggest that he’ll continue to get better and more influential if he stays on this path and remains focused.
As seen in the numbers below for his performance against Leeds in midweek, it just shows how impactful he has become in both phases of the game, while his surging progressive runs forward are a key part of our attacking play in that it moves us up the pitch at speed and creates openings for both Ramsey himself and his teammates.
It’s clear that he has worked hard on becoming more athletic, physical and quicker both in his movement and speed of thought, and having noted himself in mid-January to the Express and Star, that he had identified that the main area of his game that needed to improve was adding goals and assists to his play, he is now reaping the rewards of his hard work.
Since that interview, he has stepped up and delivered, and while he also fills a void for some Villa fans in terms of his affiliation with the club having come through the ranks and being ‘one of our own’, it just makes seeing his progression and evolution all the more sweeter as we hope he can go right to the top of the game.
Jacob Ramsey vs Leeds:
Goals: 2
Touches: 42
83% passing accuracy
Interceptions: 4⭐️ One of our own – continuing to mature/evolve into a top player.#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/SMlssQ9GIe
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) February 9, 2022