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Nicolo Zaniolo now has weeks to save Aston Villa career as Jacob Ramsey injury update emerges
Aston Villa star Nicolo Zaniolo now has three weeks to prove to Unai Emery that he’s worthy of a long-term future at the club after a new update emerges on Jacob Ramsey.
The Villa Park wonder hasn’t featured since their rampant 6-1 win over Brighton on 30 September after being given a 33-minute cameo by Emery, scoring his first of the campaign.
Last season, the Englishman played 35 of the 38 Premier League games which shows just how important he was for Emery in their rapid progression under the Spaniard.
Ramsey had proven an almighty part of that because of his tenacious energy and aggression when attempting to win the ball back, evidenced by his 0.7 interceptions, 2.0 tackles, 0.5 possessions won per game, and winning 51% of his ground duels last season [SofaScore].
According to the Opta-powered stats on FBREF last season, Ramsey looked to be one of the most-rounded midfielders in the Premier League, sitting in the top 20% of his counterparts for goals (0.21 per 90) and assists (0.18 per 90).
He also impressively sits in the 96th percentile for non-penalty goals per90, 94th percentile for assists per90, 94th for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 and 96th percentile for progressive carries per 90 highlighting his sensational influence and decisiveness amongst his peers in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, since that 6-1 win, it’s safe to argue that the Villans haven’t missed Ramsey, recording four wins and one draw in all competitions.
And according to a new update on the Villa Park favourite, the England under-21 international could yet face a few more weeks out of action.
According to injury expert Dr Rajpal Brar, speaking to Villa News (2 November) Ramsey is expected to miss the next few games due to a metatarsal injury which now hands Zaniolo three weeks to save his career at Villa Park after recent struggles.
Signed on loan from Galatasaray, after injuries to both Ramsey and Emilian Buendia, the Italian international was supposed to provide Aston Villa with the cutting-edge influence in attack they needed to progress even further this season.
While the Villans are on track to do so, Zaniolo has proven rather anonymous so far in his Villa career, with the likes of John McGinn, Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins doing most of the dirty work.
In his eight Premier League games so far this season, he’s yet to register a single goal or an assist, has recorded just 0.8 key passes per game, registered zero big chances created and his shots on target per game are pretty woeful with just 0.4 [SofaScore].
In fact, his last game – the 3-1 win over Luton Town – further reflected just how much Zaniolo is struggling to acclimatise himself despite Aston Villa playing with such superb confidence right now.
A booking in the 28th minute was as exciting as it got for the attacker, who touched the ball 28 times but only completed six total passes in the end [Sofascore].
Playing on the left-hand side, creativity is key which Ramsey showed several times last season but Zaniolo has had none of that, attempting two crosses which both failed, as well as completing 0% of his attempted dribbles.
Losing possession eight times in 45 minutes told the full story, with the Italian only winning three of his 11 duels both on the ground and in the air.
Leon Bailey came on and showed him how it was done in the end, picking up an assist as well as creating a big chance with his speed a real danger [Sofascore].
Zaniolo is also under the spotlight for his betting activities back in Italy at the moment, but still starts for Emery despite it which shows the Spaniard’s unwavering trust in him.
But with Ramsey potentially back after the upcoming international break this month, the Italian surely now has three weeks or so to save his career in Birmingham.
In other Aston Villa news, a Villa youngster could be rewarded with a new long-term deal at Villa Park following his exceptional progress.