Jacob Ramsey transfer truth as Johan Lange leads Tottenham pursuit of Aston Villa star

Jacob Ramsey is courting interest from Tottenham this summer with Aston Villa's reluctance to sell the midfielder unlikely to deter Johan Lange.

Villa's former sporting director is believed to be driving Tottenham's interest in Ramsey, which was first known back in January. The 23-year-old has three years left on his contract and is settled at his boyhood club.

Villa faced losing a key player before June 30 this summer due to their position regarding Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), and decided to sell Douglas Luiz to Juventus for €50m. Monchi prepared for the Brazilian's exit 18 months ago with forward planning being a big part of the club's recruitment strategy considering the strain caused by PSR. It allowed Villa to bring in Youri Tielemans on a free transfer last year and agree a £5m deal to sign Ross Barkley this summer before losing Luiz.

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Villa signed Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough back in January for an initial fee of just £8m and he has already made excellent progress under Unai Emery. He didn't expect to play so many minutes so early in his Villa career, but went on to make 11 Premier League appearances last term due to Ramsey's injury problems.

Ramsey only started eight league games last season and was ruled out for the rest of the campaign following an injury picked up in the 3-2 win over Luton Town. He was showing signs of rediscovering his form and confidence before coming off for Rogers at Kenilworth Road.

However, now that Villa have eased their PSR issues, only a huge bid for Ramsey would tempt the club into a sale. Of course, every player has their price, but Ramsey remains a vital part of Emery's squad, despite his injury troubles last term.

Our sister title football.london have reported that a bid of around £50m could yet prise him away from his hometown club.

It seems clear that Villa boss Emery is keen to keep the youngster, saying last January: “Jacob Ramsey is a very important player. He grew up here in the academy. His progression is clear and getting better. I want to keep him here with us.

“Teams maybe involved in the possibility to sign him, because he has big potential with Aston Villa and England, 100 per cent.”

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