View: Jacob Ramsey could be World Cup wildcard with key role for Aston Villa mooted
Steven Gerrard is preparing to lead Aston Villa into the new season for the first time, and once again Jacob Ramsey will be a key member of his side.
After taking over at Villa Park in November last season, the former England and Liverpool captain immediately made the young academy graduate a key cog in his midfield and he was rewarded with some stellar performances.
He notched five goals and an assist in the Premier League during the campaign, with a host of dynamic performances putting him in the spotlight across the country.
But despite Gerrard spending vast sums of money during the summer transfer window, and with more signings expected before the season begins, the 21-year-old currently has his spot in the team safe.
His ability to go box-to-box, with his energy and tough-tackling, physical style allows Gerrard to be able to pick and choose when to let him off the leash – with goals a likely outcome if he’s allowed to get forward more often.
With regular football, a manager who believes in him and some good form behind him, there is always an outside chance too that Ramsey could make a late burst towards the England World Cup squad later this summer.
Gareth Southgate is known to be a fan of dynamic midfielders and central midfield is arguably one of the weaker areas of the squad, with a lack of creativity in deeper positions certainly an issue.
England have been known to opt for wildcard options in their squads for international tournaments, and if he is capable of finding the form that saw him earn the nomination for PFA Young Player of the Year then there is no reason why that can’t be him this time around.
Villa though won’t care about England, they’ll want him at his best for their own personal reasons.
If he is at his best, then Villa are a better team. Diego Carlos was brought in to shore up the defence, Philippe Coutinho was turned into a permanent deal to add creativity to the forward line and Boubacar Kamara was signed to add steel to the midfield.
There is a reason Ramsey’s role hasn’t been looked at for upgrades and it’s because he can go on to become the main man at the club.
He has the perfect coach to teach him that role, and now with consistent football and a better team around him this could be the year for Ramsey to really break through.
In other Aston Villa news, Paul Merson hails “perfect” defender Matty Cash.