Jacob Ramsey needs to revive dormant season at Aston Villa, Unai Emery must start him v Zrinjski Mostar
Aston Villa star Jacob Ramsey has become an unexpected forgotten man at Villa Park after injury but he could revive his inactive season with a start against Zrinjski Mostar.
The 22-year-old broke a metatarsal in his left foot during an under-21 European Championship match with England in the summer.
He made his first appearance of the season in September against Chelsea until he re-aggravated the injury after just three appearances.
Aston Villa have been methodical and intentional regarding his return to action in recent weeks, as pointed out by Injury Expert and Doctor Dr Rajpal Brar (8 December).
The England under-21 international was given minutes off the bench against both Manchester City and Arsenal in their last two games.
While Unai Emery will be delighted to have Ramsey back, there will be no rush to get him ready to start in the Premier League.
The Villans have an established and settled group of 13-14 players already which has seen Ramsey watch on from the bench on the sidelines and it’s resulted in Villa breaking into the top three.
It’s crazy how things can suddenly change in football for players, especially those who suffer unfortunate injury blows like Ramsey did but just six months ago, the 22-year-old was an undroppable commodity for Aston Villa.
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 sat 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.
In two Premier League appearances, before he suffered his setback, Ramsey averaged just 24 minutes per game but managed to score in the 6-1 trouncing of Brighton while also averaging 1.5 shots per game and 1.0 shots on target.
These attacking stats came on top of an 87% passing accuracy, 2.0 interceptions per game, 1.0 ball recoveries, and 3.0 total duels won per game, with a 100% aerial duel success rate. [Sofascore]
The average of 2.0 tackles per game has remained into this season, while 4.6 duels won per game and 1.3 fouls drawn also show how effective he can be at easing pressure on his side.
It’s clear, the B6 academy wonder has seen his progress stunted and dormant right now, but with Aston Villa set to face off against Bosnian side Zrinjski at Villa Park on Thursday (14 December), it might be time for Emery to hand him a chance to stake his claim again.
His contributions to the Aston Villa resurgence this past year certainly warrants the opportunity on Thursday.
In other Aston Villa, one forgotten player may be losing patience with Unai Emery as his bags could already be packed ahead of a January exit.