'Seems to be the way': Influential figures at Aston Villa respond to Newcastle United's signing of Jacob Ramsey
Sunday evening brought about confirmation that Newcastle United had signed midfielder Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa.
Ramsey is a player who has been linked to Newcastle several times over the past couple of years, but was always seen as an important player for the Midlands club.
Indeed, it's highly unlikely that this deal would have gone through were it not for the PSR issues Aston Villa are facing right now, having been hit with sanctions from UEFA and the Premier League.
Much like how Newcastle had to sell Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson last summer to appease the PSR overlords, Jacob Ramsey's £40 million move to Newcastle was borne more of necessity than want.
Without PSR being the way it is, this deal probably wouldn't have happened
Nowhere is that more apparent than on social media, where Tyrone Mings and John McGinn took not-so-subtle swipes at the financial restrictions that are ruining the game (via Birmingham Live). McGinn praised Ramsey before having a go at the state of football.
“Always humble, respectful and willing to learn. It’s been a privilege to share the dressing room with you and enjoy some special moments together on the pitch.
"A sad day losing a top player and person, and one of our own - but it seems to be the way football is set up these days!”
We are excited to have Jacob Ramsey at Newcastle but can still empathise with Aston Villa
Whereas Tyrone Mings made sure the Aston Villa fans kept their calm, insisting that the move wasn't due to Jacob Ramsey forcing the issue.
“I don’t wanna hear any bad words or anything negative on his name. You don’t know the half…”
Having seen one of our own in Elliot Anderson, sold when we would have preferred to have kept him last summer, we can fully sympathise with Aston Villa on this one.
Of course, we're over the moon to have Jacob Ramsey in our squad and we can't wait to see him out there in black and white, but when big clubs like Newcastle and Villa are having to sell their top academy products to comply with financial restrictions they could easy avoid if the owners were allowed to pump in their own money, it does take the shine off the apple.
