Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece has been discussing Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey and his future at the Birmingham club.
This comes after Preece recently made an appearance on a special Q&A episode of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast where he answered a number of different questions related to Dean Smith’s side.
One question that came up during the podcast was on Ramsey and whether or not he would be likely to feature in Villa’s matchday squad now that Ross Barkley is out of action after picking up an injury during Villa’s recent 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
In response, Preece had this to say on the matter. (6.32)
He said: “He’s probably moved up the pecking order, we might see him on the bench [while Barkley is out] perhaps but I can’t see him coming straight into a starting XI in the Premier League.
“He’s so well-liked, Jacob, at Bodymoor [Heath] by the coaches and first-team players, he’s travelled to every game with the first team even if he’s not in the matchday 18, so that tells a lot.
“Smith likes having him around, feeding off the likes of Jack [Grealish] and Ross [Barkley] and [John] McGinn and just having him around and [bedding] him into the first-team group because he is going to be a big player for Villa in future seasons.”
Ramsey is a product of Villa’s youth academy and made his first-team debut for the club back in February 2019 when the club was in the Championship.
Since then, the 19-year-old has only gone on to make seven appearances for Smith’s side but he has managed to grab himself an assist for his team (per Transfermarkt).
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TIF Thoughts on Ashley Preece’s comments on Ramsey…
In the previous January transfer window, Ramsey joined Doncaster Rovers on a loan deal until the end of the 2019/20 season where he made seven appearances and managed to score three goals during his spell.
This shows that, even though he was playing in League One, he could still offer Villa another goalscoring threat if he were to play while Barkley is out with his injury.
In our view, Ramsey could provide adequate cover for Barkley in the squad until he returns from injury, and the fact that Preece said Ramsey is well-liked at the club should encourage the teenager to take any opportunity that comes his way.