Newcastle United’s transfer window finally looks to be clicking into gear. Unfortunately for Eddie Howe, this has come just days before the season kicks off, which isn’t ideal for acclimatisation. That said, he will be pleased that his squad is getting the reinforcements that it needs.
Jacob Ramsey is closing in on a move to St James’ Park from Aston Villa. The Birmingham club have PSR issues of their own and Fabrizio Romano reports that a deal worth up to £40 million is close to being completed.
After the sale of Sean Longstaff, Newcastle were desperate for more depth in midfield areas. Lewis Miley is a promising talent, while Joe Willock has shown his quality in the past. However, it didn’t look like enough cover on paper, especially as Howe usually operates with a midfield three.
Under Unai Emery, Ramsey has predominantly been used as a left winger. At Newcastle, he will be playing centrally more often, as Howe already has two very good options on the left wing. There are some clear stylistic similarities with Joe Willock and the left central midfield role will be the one he is aiming to secure.
Despite Emery’s success at Villa Park, it can be argued that he hasn’t taken the game of Ramsey to the next level. In the 2022/23 season, the Englishman contributed six goals and seven assists. At this time, he was considered a future England international and many believed that the team would be built around him.
Sadly, for the midfielder, he suffered a metatarsal injury before the start of the 2023/24 season and he never fully got back up to speed. Villa enjoyed an excellent season and Emery then struggled to get Ramsey back into the team.
It would be silly to label him as an injury prone player, as he hasn’t had many soft tissue injuries. There is a feeling that Newcastle would be ‘buying the dip’, due to his failure to break into the Villa team. A fresh start and a return to central areas could see Ramsey recapture his best form.
It is easy to see why Eddie Howe wants to sign Ramsey when you watch his clips. He is a powerful ball carrier and has a quick burst of acceleration from a standing start. This makes him dangerous in transition.
His off the ball movement after passing the ball is excellent, as he is positive in his forward running, which offers a return ball option for team-mates.
Ramsey’s understanding of the space is very impressive and allows him to pick up the ball between the lines.
Out of possession, there are countless examples of the midfielder winning the ball back in the attacking third. He looks tailor-made for Eddie Howe’s high press.
When used in central areas, Ramsey is very good at arriving late into the box and provide a cut-back option. He has scored a number of goals in this fashion, most of which have been first time strikes into the opposite top corner.
It is obvious that he enjoys having the license that a central role brings and it allows him to show his goal threat. His versatility as a winger will be an asset to have in the squad, but there is no doubt why he has been signed. It is to play in midfield and offer competition to Joelinton.
Due to being played in a wide position for much of last season, it is difficult to take a great deal out of his numbers. Ramsey’s average of 3.83 progressive passes and 3.39 progressive carries per ninety minutes underlines his positive style of play. He is often looking to progress the ball, whether that be a forward pass or a powerful run forward.
Eddie Howe has built a midfield full of players that can do this and Ramsey looks to be a perfect fit to add to the group.
If we go back to his excellent 2022-23 campaign, Ramsey’s talents were on show for all to see. He averaged 0.17 expected goals (xG) and 0.17 expected assists (xA) per ninety minutes. The Englishman had a dual threat, capable of creating and scoring. A return of six goals and seven assists shows the influence he can have in attack.
A noticeable trend in Ramsey’s stats is his impressive ball retention. Last season, he had a pass accuracy of 84.9%. Considering he was operating in advanced areas, this is high and may be indicative of why we signed him. Howe wants his Newcastle team to become a more dominant and progressive team, especially against teams that set up in a deep block. Ramsey has the tools to aid that transformation.
Defensively, Ramsey is a hard worker and aggressive when his team doesn’t have the ball. An average of 1.52 tackles, 0.53 interceptions and 1.2 blocks per ninety minutes shows the ruggedness in his game. These will be traits that appeal to Howe. These numbers coupled with his aggressiveness on the eye test suggest he will thrive in our high press.
The most glaring one would be a low shot volume as a wide player. However, this feels less relevant to us, as we will be using him in a different role. Ramsey never looked fully settled as a winger for Villa and this could have been causing him issues with his decision making.
When moved back to central areas, we will see his box crashing become a common theme again and this is when he is most confident to take shots.
There may have been a reluctance for Villa to use him centrally, due to worries about his tactical intelligence. Emery almost wants his players to be robotic in the system, but Howe is good at giving his players freedom within his own ideas. It should be a positive move for the midfielder and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back to his best.
Aside from positional concerns, there have been some to suggest he is injury prone. Given the issues we have had with Willock, it would be concerning to sign a player with similar concerns. However, as mentioned earlier, his big injuries have been freak ones (metatarsal and toe), rather than ones likely to re-occur.
The reaction to the potential signing on social media has been cautious excitement. Often, these are the players that do best at St James’ Park. Ramsey was once spoken about as a £60-70m player and if the fresh start can get him back to those levels, it isn’t impossible that he offers fierce competition to Joelinton for a starting berth.
Interestingly, his best form for Villa in the previous season came in the Champions League. Ramsey contributed a goal and two assists in 392 minutes. In more than four times the playing time, he managed only a single assist more in the Premier League.
Given our need to compete on multiple fronts, it is exciting to add a player who appears to rise to the big occasion.
If his signing is confirmed, our midfield will have much greater depth and Ramsey has the quality to push into the starting eleven. Given Joelinton’s injury record, it is a smart addition to the squad that raises the floor.
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