While Aston Villa fans have long known of the talent that Jacob Ramsey possesses, the 20-year-old is now set for a chance to propel his game to the next level.
Villa made it four wins in the last six games with victory over Norwich City in midweek, and it was Ramsey’s stunning solo goal that sparked us into action in the first half and set us on our way to securing all three points.
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That’s now two goals in 15 appearances so far this season for the Villa youth product, and he’ll undoubtedly hope to kick on now and become a more consistent goalscoring and creator for us.
Ramsey has opportunity to become key Villa man
From his time at youth level for Villa along with his short loan spell at Doncaster Rovers, Ramsey has been touted as a top prospect for some time and former boss Dean Smith always spoke highly of the talented youngster and was convinced he’d be a top player for us.
While time will ultimately be the judge of that, there is no denying that Ramsey has bags of talent, and it’s now down to Gerrard, his coaching staff, and the Great Barr-native himself to build on that and prove his quality week in and week out.
His strike against Arsenal earlier this season was superb, but given the clash at the Emirates ended in defeat for us, it was ultimately overshadowed with real disappointment.
This time round though it was an entirely different story, with Ramsey scoring a wonderful solo goal as he slalomed through the Norwich defence before hammering a left-footed strike into the back of the net to set us on the way to a win.
Coupled with his overall performance and influence in both phases of the game, it was another example of just how important he could be for us moving forward. With Gerrard now guiding him, having been a world-class midfielder himself who was involved in countless goals across a glittering career, it’s hoped that knowledge and experience can help ‘JJ’ go through the gears.
Dating back to last season, the youngster has gone through the first stage of this part of his progression by establishing himself as a first-team regular and an important piece of the XI when involved.
Now, it has to be about being more decisive in the final third to really stamp his mark on the side and make himself an undroppable presence.
Much like how Jack Grealish has revealed on several occasions the impact of Smith on his career when he arrived at Villa, Gerrard must now challenge Ramsey to get his numbers up. It’s important for the team that he puts in a defensive shift every game and he is generally tidy in our build-up play to get us into threatening areas.
However, that’s not enough for a player with his potential if he wants to get the best out of himself, and so he has to strive to do more. If he can showcase the class we saw from him on Tuesday on a weekly basis and make telling contributions for Villa consistently, we could have another really special talent on our hands at the club.
That is a special run from Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey! ⚡
He puts his head down and just goes! A burst from midfield that his manager would have been proud of! 💥 pic.twitter.com/Asjajh1J5N
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 14, 2021