Tottenham plot explosive marquee signing of top Aston Villa star; Emery left deflated as Newcastle fall behind

James Marshment 30 Jan 2024 8:38 PM

Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey is wanted by Tottenham

Tottenham are putting themselves firmly into the mix to prise Jacob Ramsey away from Aston Villa – and Ange Postecoglou’s side have been declared the “ones to watch” with regards amid a three-way battle to sign the talented midfielder.

Spurs have been the most active Premier League club this transfer window, bringing in forward Timo Werner for an initial €6m loan deal from RB Leipzig, and also splashing out a fee that could top €30m for Genoa defender Radu Dragusin. And while there are just hours left in the window, it seems Tottenham are not yet finished.

Indeed, Postecoglou still hopes to further add to his squad this month with the signing of a new wide attacker to add into his mix. And while a deal for Antonio Nusa was hijacked by Brentford – only for the Bees to then see a medical issue scupper their chances – Spurs do have four other options reportedly under consideration before the window closes.

However, Postecoglou’s major aim in what is left in this window is to sign a new midfielder amid plans to ultimately phase out Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

The Dane has slipped down the pecking order under Postecoglou since the Aussie’s arrival and had looked nailed on to leave this month. However, while he now looks likely to stay after all, after a suitable buyer failed to materialise, Spurs do still hope to add a new player to their engine room themselves.

To that end, TEAMtalk understands that a move for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher cannot be ruled out even in this late stage of the window.

However, with Mauricio Pochettino doing all he can to try and resist that sale, Spurs know they may have to wait until the summer window instead.

Villa may be forced to sell star midfielder

In the event Chelsea do keep Gallagher, Spurs are being tipped to instead switch their focus towards Villa midfielder Ramsey instead.

The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the best young midfielders in the country, having made 115 appearances for the Villans since debuting back in the 2018/19 season while still a teenager.

And while his game-time this season has been affected by injury – at the time of writing he has made just 14 appearances this season – the player is still highly-regarded by all at the Midlands club.

However, The Athletic claims Villa are teetering dangerously close to FFP limitations and will likely need to make a big sale before June to ensure they do not breach those regulations.

And with Ramsey appearing to have lost his place as a first-team regular – both Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara are also in the mix for central midfield berths – it’s been suggested that a disappointed Unai Emery may be forced to consider the sale of Ramsey.

Both Newcastle and Bayern Munich have been credited with an interest in Ramsey, with the former tipped to potential make a move this month.

Tottenham ready to launch move to sign Jacob Ramsey

However, journalist Ben Jacobs has told Givemesport that it is Tottenham who are the ones to watch as far as Ramsey is concerned and he reckons the marquee signing of the Villa star could be on the cards later this year.

“I think that Tottenham are one to watch. I’d be surprised on the Bayern front because my understanding has always been that the player would prefer, ideally, to stay in the Premier League,” Jacobs said.

“Bayern can’t be discounted because they haven’t signed Kieran Trippier, along with one or two others, at this stage. That means there is a little bit of money to spend.

“But, at the moment, I think they would be less likely to bid in the final few hours of the window, even though it’s a player that Thomas Tuchel, in particular, likes and knows very well.”

Ramsey’s £70,000 a week deal at Villa is not due to expire until summer 2027, meaning Villa are likely to demand a sizeable fee for their talented young midfielder.

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Jacob Ramsey