Aston Villa appear to have completed an astute piece of business in January with the signing of Morgan Rogers, but some might be concerned over what it might mean for Jacob Ramsey.
Rogers, 21, has made a crucial impact in his 13 appearances for the club thus far, not only scoring two goals and providing an assist, but also through how he’s settled, adapted and flourished so quickly under Unai Emery.
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After a protracted pursuit, Villa eventually landed his signature to prise him away from Middlesbrough, and it was clear that Emery and his scouting staff had seen something in the talented youngster that made him an ideal fit for the squad and style of play that he’s building.
We’ve seen that through his early performances, as aside from offering a goal threat in the final third, his tactical understanding, positional awareness and ability to play within our structure and style has all stood out and seen him earn deserved praise from the Villa boss.
In contrast, it’s been a frustrating campaign for Ramsey who has been limited to just 21 appearances this season due to injury, scoring one goal and providing two assists in those outings, with a problematic foot issue now ruling him out for the rest of the year.
While it’s hoped that he can get a full pre-season in this summer to come back ready to go for the new season, concern was raised in January over Villa’s position in relation to the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, and speculation suggested that Ramsey could be sacrificed for a significant transfer fee in order to help us balance our books.
Emery made it clear what his thoughts were on the 22-year-old’s future, as seen in his comments below, but time will tell if that becomes a more pressing concern at the end of the season, even if we manage to qualify for the Champions League.
“I am not thinking about letting him leave, even in the case some teams are offering us a lot,” Emery said in January, as per the Express and Star. “Right now I don’t want that – I completely don’t want that. I want to work with him and try and help him increase his level because I am selfish and I want him at his best for me.
“We can both benefit from that. His future now is with Aston Villa. In all my conversations with him his commitment to Aston Villa is clear.”
Naturally, it’s hoped that Ramsey stays and as a product of our Youth Academy, it’s important we continue to bring talent through, and in recent years, he’s emerged as one of the top young players to prove himself at senior level.
So, assuming Emery has the backing of the club in that the plan isn’t to sell Ramsey this summer – and hopefully none of our first-team stars for that matter – the idea of seeing him and Rogers together in the same side is a tantalising one as it’s easy to imagine them wreaking havoc in advanced areas in transition with their attributes.
Of course, there is significant competition for places with Moussa Diaby, Leon Bailey, a returning Emiliano Buendia and potentially Nicolo Zaniolo if his deal is made permanent or a replacement signing, but it’s an exciting prospect to imagine what Ramsey, Rogers and Ollie Watkins could do to opposition defences with their pace, technical ability and quality in front of goal as it could be a lethal trident.
It’s easy to understand the logic behind those who fear that the signing of Rogers was to fill the upcoming void that Ramsey might leave if he was to depart this summer, and that, unfortunately, may prove to be the case, especially given how impressive he’s looked so far and finances will ultimately dictate if we need to make a difficult decision.
However, looking at it from another, more promising, angle, Villa have two exceptional young talents at Emery’s disposal who could form a devastating attacking duo if they can stay healthy and show consistency. For a squad looking to consistently compete for a top-four finish in the Premier League, in the domestic cups and in the Champions League, we’ll certainly need competition and depth across the group to be able to sustain our competitiveness across all fronts.
That’s what we have currently even before potential reinforcements arrive, and hopefully, we’re in a position to keep Ramsey and the core of the squad in place and our injured stars returning next season will give us another huge lift and complement those who have featured prominently in their absence.