Calvin Ramsay and Rhys Williams of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on January 25, 2023 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Calvin Ramsay and Rhys Williams of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on January 25, 2023 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool face Aston Villa in the Premier League and there is a chance that Calvin Ramsay is named on the substitutes’ bench.
It was probably the only positive of a bleak evening. In the lashing rain, those who made the trip to Anfield had to endure a sixth Liverpool defeat in seven matches. They had to watch Arne Slot surrender the chances of silverware.
As soon as the team sheets were released before the 3-0 Carabao Cup loss to Crystal Palace, supporters knew the fate. Slot waved the white flag as he prioritised remedying Liverpool’s dire Premier League form following four successive defeats.
Slot would have known some supporters would be disgruntled by the decision to make 10 changes at the 3-2 loss at Brentford. Yet he feels he needs fresh players for today’s fixture against Aston Villa at Anfield. Unai Emery’s side have lit the touchpaper after a poor start and it will be a challenging game.
Those who walked away from the Palace game at least were optimistic about the performance of Calvin Ramsay. The 22-year-old made a return from the wilderness and plenty concurred he was Liverpool’s best player.
Ramsay made his first Reds outing in almost three years. There were high hopes when he was signed from Aberdeen for £4.2 million in 2022. However, a serious injury in his maiden campaign had an impact and it was followed by disappointing loan spells at Preston, Bolton, Wigan and most recently Kilmarnock.
Despite being over age, Ramsay has been with Liverpool’s under-21s since the start of the season. He has not been spotted training with Slot’s squad when the club have uploaded video footage and photos from Kirkby.
But his display against Palace won the praise of Slot. “I think Calvin had a very, very decent performance,” the Liverpool head coach said. “Calm on the ball. I don't know if I said it over here but [in] the first half-hour, I think we had better chances than them actually and he was part of that. He played with composure. A decent-to-good game for him.”
Right-back has been a problem position for Liverpool since Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit to Real Madrid. Jeremie Frimpong, purchased to replace Alexander-Arnold, finds himself back on the treatment table with a hamstring injury. Conor Bradley has had fitness problems of his own. Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been Liverpool’s best player this season, is wasted in defence.
In truth, it is unlikely that Ramsay will suddenly propel himself into Slot’s Premier League plans. But given the injury issues that Liverpool have, Ramsay may well make the bench. Ryan Gravenberch could return to fitness after an ankle issue, but Slot admitted that Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones (both groin) are unlikely to be involved. Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) are also unavailable as well as youngsters Jayden Danns and Stefan Bajcetic (both hamstring).
Ramsay has not been in a Premier League squad since a 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on 6 November 2022. That was 1061 days ago. At that point, there were extremely high hopes for the one-cap Scotland international, perhaps that he would be vying for a regular starting spot. Former boss Jurgen Klopp said: " He is an outstanding talent. We scouted him over a lot of games and he did exceptionally well.
"For a young age - the way he plays - he is a real player. He is really involved in everything. He’s a real talent and I am really excited about him. When he arrived here, he had this issue with the back so he was out. Now I've seen him two or three times training, but it is the first few sessions. Now we know much more about him as a boy.
"He is outstanding, well-educated, friendly - a really good boy. Now we start working, that’s it. How it is for all of them in that age group: the sky is the limit. The start of his career was really good. Now we had that little interruption, but we are not done. We have to make sure we can work with him as much to give him the best chance of having the best possible career."
However, if Ramsay does get a place among the subs against Villa, he’ll very much be making up the numbers.
Continue Reading