Aston Villa are enjoying a promising shift in fortunes under head coach Unai Emery, with the club now looking to continue their resurgence in the Premier League against Leicester City, who travel to Villa Park this afternoon.
With the Spaniard replacing Steven Gerrard in there managerial role in October, the Midlands outfit have since seen a commendable spike in both performance and fluidity, winning five of their seven league matches with the 51-year-old at the helm and losing just once against Liverpool.
The four-time Europa League winner has been vanquished in both domestic cup competitions, but the overall consensus so far is emphatically in his favour, and there is a real sense that Villa might just be undergoing a fruitful transformation on his watch.
With Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes now seeking to revive their own fortunes at Villa Park, having taken just one point from a possible 15 since the Premier League resumed at Christmas, today’s contest could be one of grit and dogged physicality, with the two teams perhaps requiring a moment of wizardry to settle the result in their favour.
Jacob Ramsey, who is valued at £31m by CIES Football Observatory, could be the man to do just that for the home side, with his dynamic capabilities in midfield making him a valuable focal point within Emery’s system and a regular starting presence despite his tender age.
Hailed as his team’s “hometown hero” by Squawka, the 21-year-old is traversing the right path towards a prominent role in the Premier League, having scored two goals and provided three assists from 14 top-flight starts this term.
Recording an average league rating of 6.94 from Sofascore, Ramsey has completed 85% of his passes and averaged 0.9 key passes per game, also making 2.3 tackles per match and winning 59% of his ground duels.
Douglas Luiz is the only Villa midfielder to boast a better Sofascore rating across the current campaign, and for a player so raw yet so reliable as a creative and all-embracing central outlet, Ramsey is quickly becoming one of his team’s most important assets.
As per FBref, the £70k-per-week gem ranks among the top 11% of midfielders across Europe’s big five leagues for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 5% for progressive carries, top 3% for blocks and top 15% for tackles. That illustrates a dynamic, refined sheen to his play which indeed sets him in good stead to flourish under Emery’s tutelage for seasons to come.
With the Foxes having run wayward of late, losing four of their past five matches in the Premier League and just one point above the dreaded relegation zone, Villa will hope to heap further misery onto their divisional rivals and climb into the top half of the table with a victory.
Ramsey could well be imperative in doing just that, with his transitional approach and robust nature on the pitch. Those quality was very much on display against Southampton last time out, as he won seven tackles and 11 duels, along with making two key passes, in a fine performance at St Mary’s.
With the 21-year-old given license to roam, he could run an out-of-sorts Leicester team ragged, and Emery must therefore start him once again today.