Journalist Luke Hatfield thinks Jacob Ramsey will understand why he was left out by Dean Smith in Aston Villa's recent defeat to Wolves.
The 20-year-old had started Villa's previous four league matches, and was particularly impressive in the 3-0 win over Everton last month, when he completed over 96% of his passes. He was somewhat surprisingly named on the bench, though, for the clash with Bruno Lage's men.
Why was Ramsey left out against Wolves?
The promising talent, who is valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, has made a significant breakthrough this term, establishing himself as a regular in the team's starting XI.
However, this has come at the expense of the club's record signing Emiliano Buendia, who has struggled for game time in recent weeks.
It appears that Smith wanted to find a place for Buendia in the side, and opted to bring him in for Ramsey on the weekend.
The Argentine playmaker went on to play 74 minutes, before being replaced by Ramsey in the final stages of the match.
What has Hatfield said about Ramsey being dropped?
Hatfield believes Ramsey will be aware of why he was dropped on Saturday, and does not expect the youngster to be feeling dejected after Smith's ruthless decision.
When asked what Ramsey's reaction to being benched will be, Hatfield told GIVEMESPORT: “Jacob Ramsey, I think will be understanding of that, that if Buendia does come in and obviously he’s a seasoned performer at this level, whereas Ramsey’s obviously a bit more inexperienced.
"I think he’ll be understanding that he’ll be in and out of the side, maybe coming on making substitute appearances when Villa need legs.”
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Will Ramsey come back into the starting XI against Arsenal?
Villa travel to north London on Friday night, with Smith facing another tough call as to whether to go with Ramsey or Buendia.
The latter made the most of his opportunity against Wolves, making two key passes on his way to a match rating of 7.14 from WhoScored. Following that performance, Hatfield has tipped Buendia to retain his place in the starting line-up.
This would likely mean that Ramsey has to settle for a place on the bench again, unless Smith decides to alter his formation.
The 50-year-old has been using a 3-5-2 in recent weeks, but if he moves to a 4-3-3 and plays Buendia on the right wing, this could open up a spot in the middle of the park for Ramsey.
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