Newcastle United latest news: Jacob Ramsey starred against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek ahead of his return to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Newcastle United head to Villa Park on Saturday, with a not so secret weapon in their arsenal.
Eddie Howe’s side ended a winless Premier League run on Tuesday night with a victory over Tottenham Hotspur, sealed by goals from two of their summer signings. Malick Thiaw, easily the shining light of their business during the summer, poked home just before half-time to give his side a very deserved lead.
However, when Archie Gray pegged them back against the run of play, Newcastle United needed a hero. And a hero is what they got in the form of Jacob Ramsey.
Ramsey’s performance against Spurs, capped off with a brilliant strike, shouldn’t have come as a surprise to many Newcastle United fans who had watched his game closely over the last few weeks. Ramsey had slowly but surely been developing his game into the type of midfield player that Howe loves.
Yes, it had taken a while for him to settle on Tyneside - an ankle injury less than 45 minutes into your first start for the club will do that. But his performances in 2026 have shown why the club were so desperate to sign him in the summer and why he had been high on their priority list for 18 months prior to that.
As an athlete, Ramsey has got it. But so do a lot of his Newcastle United teammates.
What Ramsey possesses that makes him stand out in Howe’s squad is a creative spark, a drive to move the team forward and crucially, as demonstrated in north London, a finishing ability. Ramsey showed this on numerous occasions at Aston Villa, including in games against the Magpies, and will hopefully get the gametime he needs to show off these skills on Tyneside on a regular basis.
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Villa, of course, will be no strangers to the quality that Ramsey possesses and it’s certain that he won’t be afforded the space and time to create and finish like he was given on Tuesday night. Whilst the main objective for Ramsey on Saturday will be to help his new side progress in the FA Cup, he now has a great opportunity to stake his claim for a regular starting spot - he certainly has the backing of his head coach to do just that.
Eddie Howe praises Jacob Ramsey
Ramsey’s release of emotion as the ball flew past Guglielmo Vicario and into the back of the Spurs net showed just how much that goal meant to him. It had been a long time coming - but came on a night of real maturity and a potentially pivotal moment in his Newcastle United career.
Speaking about the midfielder post-match in north London, Howe revealed his delight that Ramsey’s performances and form were being praised: “Really good goal,” United’s head coach said.
“I mean, he's such a good technical player and I thought you saw that. I thought the two number eights today for us, Joe Willock and Jacob Ramsey, were excellent today. Physically really good.
“I thought we controlled the first half in part due to them and Bruno's performance. So I was really happy and delighted he scored, because I think he needed that sort of recognition because his recent performances have been very good.”
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