Aston Villa have eight Premier League games to secure a top-four finish and with players set to soon return from injury, one figure could give Unai Emery a real headache over selection.
Not many would have thought that in April of the 2023/24 campaign, Aston Villa would be fighting for Champions League qualification and European silverware.
Last season, the Villans faced relegation form under Steven Gerrard before having their fortunes turned around by Unai Emery, who has revolutionised the state of play at Villa Park.
The Spaniard has added star names to his squad but has, in the majority, improved the form of the players he inherited from Gerrard, although one of the Englishman’s favourites could now face a struggle to remain in the starting XI.
Jacob Ramsey has suffered a difficult season at Aston Villa
For all of Gerrard’s faults at the helm, the former manager ensured that Jacob Ramsey became firmly part of the furniture in the first team.
The Bodymoor Heath graduate had a remarkable campaign in 2022/23, thriving under both managers to see him end the season with six Premier League goals and seven assists.
Most prominently, the versatile Englishman secured 35 appearances in the top flight, something that he hasn’t been able to achieve this year.
With only 16 appearances and eight starts, it’s been a frustrating year for the 22-year-old, who has battled with injury since the summer of 2023.
Sustaining a broken foot on international duty was not how the Villa star had planned to begin the 2023/24 campaign, with a number of injury woes coming since.
While Ramsey’s quality has never been doubted, the midfielder could now find himself struggling to instantly return to the starting XI, with one of Emery’s signings making waves since arriving at Villa Park.
Morgan Rogers could limit Jacob Ramsey’s playing time even more
Prior to his injury, Ramsey was deployed efficiently on the left wing under the manager however, with his recovery from his latest injury stalling, January arrival Morgan Rogers has continued to flourish in his place.
The “dangerous” 21-year-old, as lauded by Michael Carrick, signed for Villa in January from Middlesbrough and despite taking a few games to adapt, the Englishman is beginning to show his worth at the top level.
Against Wolves last time out, Rogers was influential to Villa’s attack, seeing him branded as an “absolute beast” for his display when driving forward to encourage positive passages of play.
With Ramsey expected to return in the coming fixtures, it would be difficult to see Emery now drop Rogers simply to allow his teammate to re-enter the fold, with his building form difficult to ignore.
In the instance that the former Championship starlet was to begin to directly contribute to the goals, it would be hard for the manager to force him to make way for Ramsey, who theoretically should have to earn his place in the XI.
That being said, Ramsey has the ability to play centrally, which could benefit Emery due to his current woes in midfield.
It’s never a negative thing for a squad to have the ability to generate competition for starting spots and with fixtures coming thick and fast and with high importance, Villa will only benefit from having two quality talents in their squad.
