Jacob Ramsey responds to Lucas Digne’s one-word message as Aston Villa exits loom
Jacob Ramsey has responded after Lucas Digne issued a short message to Aston Villa fans amid rumours that both players could leave the club this summer.
Digne was a mainstay at left-back for the Villans in his first few seasons at the club, but Ian Maatsen’s arrival at Villa from Chelsea last summer meant he faced tough competition for starts in the 2024/25 season.
Football Insider revealed on 20 June that Digne had opened talks over a move to join Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, with the La Liga outfit prepared to make an opening bid of £8m for the 31-year-old after football finance expert Dan Plumley told Football Insider that the Villans will be forced to sell at least one or two key players to try and avoid further sanctions from UEFA after a recent fine.
Ramsey impressed for Aston Villa again last season, with four goals and seven assists in 45 games in all competitions despite suffering a hamstring injury that kept him out for over a month just before the turn of the year.
He could also leave the club this summer though, with former scout Mick Brown recently revealing that Tottenham are plotting a move to sign Ramsey, while Football Insider reported on 20 July that Nottingham Forest are now the front-runners for Ramsey’s signature with Everton also interested.
Digne calls for ‘balance’ amid Villa exit rumours
The pair are still a part of Unai Emery’s squad for now, and they each started on the left flank in Villa’s first pre-season friendly of their tour of the USA in a 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday (27 July).
Digne has clearly been working hard to prove himself to his compatriot ahead of Maatsen, and he took to Instagram on Tuesday (29 July) to share a picture of him in training alongside the one-word caption: “Balance” with weighing scale and purple and blue heart emojis.
His short message was liked by fellow exit-linked Villan Ramsey, while Ezri Konsa, new signing Marco Bizot and former Everton teammate Asmir Begovic each did the same.
Aston Villa should sell Ramsey if he wants to leave
Football Insider verdict
It would be unwise for Villa to let Digne leave without signing a replacement, but the same cannot be said for his teammate, especially after Football Insider exclusively revealed in May that Ramsey is “unhappy” at Aston Villa and would be open to a move for more regular starts.
With his apparent unhappiness in mind, it seems like a pretty obvious move for the club to look to sell him this summer, especially given their precarious financial position and the fact he is an asset who will command a sizeable fee.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 167 | 17 | 19 |
Ramsey did impress last term, but was arguably more impactful in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons respectively, and he managed to start only 19 league games amid strong competition for places from both Rashford and Asensio.
The lure of Champions League football is likely what attracts him to Spurs, while it will be similar with Nottingham Forest, who are in pole position to land him if he does leave the West Midlands, and former club chief Keith Wyness has told Football Insider that he believes that Ramsey will be on his way out of Villa soon, with the board hopeful of auctioning him off to garner a higher fee for his signature.