Unai Emery hasn’t added much in terms of recruitment at Aston Villa since arriving in October 2022, yet he has managed to utterly transform their fortunes since his appointment.
The club were heading for a relegation dogfight under Steven Gerrard, winning just twice in the Premier League before his sacking and the European spots seemed like a world away at the time.
The Spaniard has managed to bring the best out of those at his disposal. Ollie Watkins has been sensational under the 51-year-old, scoring 12 goals since Christmas while Tyrone Mings has been revitalised, keeping eight clean sheets in the same timeframe.
Arguably the most improved player is Jacob Ramsey, with the youngster thriving in Emery’s setup of late, and it appears as though the former Arsenal boss has hit the jackpot with the academy graduate.
How much is Jacob Ramsey worth?
The 21-year-old has seen his value soar in recent months with journalist Pete O’Rourke detailing his current worth to Football FanCast.
He said: “Villa are lucky they’ve got such a top young player on their hands and they won't want to even consider selling him.
“In the going market right now, he’s probably in the £50m bracket at least, but I don’t think Aston Villa would even consider selling him. They want to keep him and build a team around him going forward.”
There is no doubt he has been rejuvenated under Emery, becoming a key component to the team's run to secure a European spot ahead of next term.
Ramsey managed just two goal contributions under Gerrard during the early part of the season, yet since November, he has added six more – three goals and three assists – to add some much-needed attacking intent from the midfield area.
His performance against Newcastle United recently was a prime example of how much he has improved. The Englishman was a menace to the opposition defence, making four key passes, succeeding with three dribble attempts, creating two big chances, and taking four shots in total.
That was all complemented by a goal and an assist in a truly wonderful attacking display from the £70k-per-week starlet.
The “special talent” – as dubbed by Sam Tabuteau last year – could be the fulcrum that Emery needs to build a Villa team which could take the league by storm next season, especially if the first months of his reign are just a brief appetiser of what’s to come.
