Jonty Banks

Mon 17 April 2023 11:10, UK

A number of Aston Villa players would have caught the attention of Gareth Southgate during the rampant 3-0 victory over Newcastle, but Jacob Ramsey may have been the surprise of the afternoon.

With England internationals Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins starting in claret and blue and Newcastle duo Kieran Tripper and Nick Pope donning the Magpies colours, there was plenty for the England boss to keep tabs on at Villa Park.

And despite Watkins stealing the headlines after netting his 10th and 11th goals from his last 12 Premier League outings, it was Ramsey who set Villa on their way with a well-taken goal after 11 minutes.

The left-footed strike was the England Under-21 international’s fourth goal of a very under-the-radar but extremely impressive season.

Ramsey’s importance to Unai Emery’s side this term has been made plain to see by a string of statistics shared by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig.

During the 2022/23 season, in which the academy graduate has amassed over 2000 minutes of Premier League action, Ramsey has chipped in with 1.4 key passes per 90 minutes, five big chances created, one interception per 90, and a formidable 2.7 tackles per outing.

Considering Ramsey’s continued progression this season, and the fact he was named as England Under-21s’ captain in the most recent international break, it is surely only a matter of time before he is considered for a Three Lions call-up.

The likes of Kalvin Phillips and Conor Gallagher haven’t received the consistent game-time that Southgate has so often stated is imperative when selecting his national team, while Ramsey is playing almost every single week in Emery’s bang-in-from side.

According to the Opta-powered stats at FBREF, Ramsey’s progressive carrying of the football is up there among Europe’s elite.

Over the last year, the 21-year-old is in the 97th percentile for progressive carries per 90 minutes (3.33) while also sitting in the top 20% of midfielders from Europe’s top five leagues for touches in the attacking penalty area (2.80 per 90), progressive passes received (3.60) and non-penalty expected goals (0.15 per 90).

Although Southgate may consider the upcoming international break in June as a little too soon to blood Ramsey into the England camp, the Villa midfielder can’t be far away from getting his maiden call-up.

There are few midfielders in the form of Ramsey right now, and at 21, he still has plenty of scope for improvement.

In other Aston Villa news, the club might have found the heir to James Milner after what Unai Emery did against Newcastle.