Rio Ferdinand admits ‘salivating’ over ‘talented’ Ramsey

Jacob Ramsey grabbed the headlines after scoring twice in Aston Villa’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United and Rio Ferdinand was one of many pundits to heap praise on the 20-year-old. Ramsey has been in fine form this season and could be rewarded with an England call-up next month.

Ramsey is Villa’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League this season (5) and Ferdinand has admitted ‘salivating’ over the ‘talent’ he has. The BT Sport pundit believes Ramsey could become an incredible player in years to come, saying (h/t Daily Mail): “(Gerrard)’s not wrong, he’s not far off.

“The glimpses he’s showing us at the moment, for a kid so young, with the inexperience he’s got, the lack of exposure at this level, is beautiful to see. We love watching young players, you hear us here in the studio salivating over them and they’re the players we want to come to the stadium and watch.

“He’s just another one who we’re sitting here going, ‘what’s that going to look like in two, three, four years? Where’s he going to be?’. Stevie will be hoping it’s here, but there’ll be big, big, big clubs, far bigger than Aston Villa, with all due respect, circling and wanting that type of talent in their team, I’m sure.”

Ramsey rose to the youth ranks to the first-team in 2020/21, after scoring 16 goals with four assists from 38 games for Villa’s U18s (2016 – 2019), scoring eight goals with seven assists from 27 games for the U23s (2018 – 2020) and scoring three goals in seven games on loan at Doncaster Rovers (2019/20).

The 20-year-old has gone on to make 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals with two assists. He’s started 16 of Villa’s 25 Premier League games this season and is one of the first names on the teamsheet under Steven Gerrard. His