Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey has revealed the area of his game in which Unai Emery is putting pressure on him to improve in and make a bigger impact.
The 22-year-old finished last season with six goals and eight assists in 38 appearances, with five of those goals and six of his assists coming after Emery was appointed for his first game against Man Utd on November 6.
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That equalled his tally of goals from the previous campaign, while he provided seven more assists, and so he took an important step forward last season in terms of being more decisive in the final third, and Emery’s influence on him had a clear impact.
Ramsey has now revealed that is an area of his game in which the Villa boss has put pressure on him to improve in, and understandably so, but it’s one thing putting that pressure on and another actually helping the Villa ace make the impact needed on the pitch on a more consistent basis.
Just as he has done with various other players in the current squad, Emery has improved and developed Ramsey’s game, and it’s hoped that trend continues next season too.
“Emery is putting a lot of pressure on me to create chances for Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey – players like that,” Ramsey said, as per the Daily Mail.
“When he’s come in he’s put a lot of pressure on me, which is always good to have him demanding me to go and get in the box, scoring goals, get assistance and creating chances.”
We saw with Ramsey’s ability to not only break forward with pace with the ball at his feet, but his evolving talent of being in the right place at the right time to get goals by making well-timed runs or showing more composure in possession to pick out teammates when he gets into dangerous areas, he is maturing and improving constantly.
At just 22 years of age, he’s far from done in terms of his development and he’ll hope to play an even bigger role next year, and with Emery guiding his career and consistently teaching him more, there is a real confidence that Ramsey will grow into a pivotal figure for us, even more so than he is already.