Aston Villa star back in full-training amidst rumours of a transfer away

Aston Villa fans have been starting to question both the fitness and the future of Jacob Ramsey following his absence from the squad in Villa's first two pre-season fixtures. However, as reported by John Townley (Birmingham Live), Ramsey today returned to full training with the rest of the squad at Bodymoor Heath. Ramsey was also spotted on Villa's social media today heading out to the training pitch (see below).

The news will be most welcome to Villa fans as Ramsey is considered to be one of Villa's best players when fully fit. The 2022/23 season saw him shine under Unai Emery and the local lad was on the cusp of England selection before his injury ridden season last time out.

Ramsey's first injury problem came when representing England U21's at the Euro's in the summer of 2023 where he suffered a metatarsal injury. After taking a while to recover Ramsey finally returned to the side in late September and scored a cracking goal in the 6-1 demolition of Brighton. However, reoccurring and new injuries restricted Ramsey to just 16 Premier League appearances (8 starts) and wasn't in the squad at all during the final three months of the season.

On top of that, his absence from Villa's two pre-season fixtures in the last week, where Villa beat both Walsall and Spartak Trnava 3-0, was beginning to make the fans wonder if they would be seeing a fully fit and firing Ramsey in a Villa shirt again.

That thought was emphasised as a result of the transfer rumours linking Ramsey with a move away from the club in the last couple of weeks. Tottenham Hotspur are known to be interested in the Villa academy graduate and it is said that an offer was made for the player. This offer is understood to have been a play plus cash deal involving a fee of £20 million and Giovani Lo Celso heading to Villa Park to reunite with his former boss Unai Emery.

Having seen the reactions to the rumour of Ramsey's potential move to Spurs I think it is clear that Ramsey is not a player that the fans want to see leave the club. Unai Emery has also previously spoken of his desire to keep Ramsey and the player himself has stated he has no intention to leave.

""Jacob Ramsey is a very important player. His progression is clear and getting better. I want to keep him here with us. Teams maybe involved in the possibility to sign him, because he is a potentially big, big player in Aston Villa and England. I want to keep him here 100%.""

- Unai Emery (speaking in January 2024)

Therefore, the fans worries can be eased and now the excitement can grow as Ramsey prepares to step onto the pitch in a Villa shirt for the first time in nearly five months during Villa's tour of America which starts later this week.

Fans will be interested to see if a fully fit Ramsey will be a regular starter for the team when Villa have the likes of Morgan Rogers and Jaden Philogene competing for places in those areas of the pitch. Either way, it will be great to see Ramsey back playing and hopefully remaining injury free for the foreseeable future.

UTV