Dan Bardell: Jacob Ramsey can be Jude Bellingham-lite for Aston Villa
We’re delighted to welcome The Athletic’s Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Jacob Ramsey is a very important player for Aston Villa even though his best position has not yet been settled on by manager Steven Gerrard, says Dan Bardell.
The 21-year-old scored the only goal of the game to beat Southampton 1-0 on 16 September, a fortnight after assisting Leon Bailey for his strike against Manchester City, and Bardell feels he can bring a lot of what teenage Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham does to a side.
And having sometimes become lost among the problem area of central midfield for the Lions Bardell feels that Ramsey is often better suited to a place in the front three, where he thrived against Pep Guardiola’s side on 3 September.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News about the young Lion he said: “He’s very important. Steven Gerrard talks very highly of him. He’s someone that Gerrard wants to build the team around.
“I liked him in that left-wing position against Manchester City. I think there should be games where he comes into the front three because I think he’s good enough to do it.
“Sometimes in central midfield he can get a little bit lost and not really get in the game, but central midfield has been a bit of a problem area.
“But Gerrard’s changed things round in recent games, especially the Southampton game where he played from the right of the central midfield, and [John] McGinn played from the left, and I think that suited McGinn who put in a better performance.
“But I think it’s taking something away from Ramsey when you play him on the right of the central three because he can’t cut in on his strongest foot and drive with the ball, and it takes away what he’s good at.
“But it was nice to see him score against Southampton last game because he had a good goal return last year, so it’s good for him to get off the mark early, and he took the goal well.
“It probably looks like it was an easy finish but I think that was a difficult one to put away, there were bodies about on the line and he managed to knock it in off the crossbar.
“Moving forward, Ramsey’s still one of the first people I pick in this Villa team. He’d be one of the first names in my team because I do think he’s got a very unique skill set.
“I’ve likened him before to Jude Bellingham-lite. I’m not saying he’s as good as Bellingham but I think he brings an awful lot to the table. He’s capable of doing some of the things that Bellingham’s good at and I think moving forward he’s so, so important.
“I just want to see him get a bit more involved in the game at times, but I appreciate because Villa haven’t been great over the last 12 months that’s a big ask for someone who’s so young.”
The key impact that the England under-21 international made in both of the previous two games earned him a nomination for Premier League player of the month, and for good reason.
With Boubacar Kamara ruled out with injury it is going to be instructive to see how Gerrard uses Ramsey in the run up to the World Cup break, just as it will be to see how the youngster adapts.
In a difficult period he has stepped up for this side, and fans will be delighted if the encouraging signs are followed by sustained growth from one of their own.
In other Aston Villa news, the club have confirmed knee ligament damage to summer signing Kamara.