Aston Villa head into the March international break inside the top four as they compete to secure Champions League football for the 2024/25 campaign.
Unai Emery's side were guaranteed to keep their place in the top four after Tottenham Hotspur were thumped 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Despite the incredible success on the pitch for the Villans this season, the Spanish head coach has still found room to integrate and develop academy talent throughout the campaign.
Jacob Ramsey, who came up through the youth system under Dean Smith, had already established himself as a first-team regular before Emery's arrival.
The former Villarreal boss could now unearth Ramsey 2.0 and find his own homegrown heir to last summer's big-money signing Moussa Diaby with U21s starlet Omari Kellyman, who has caught the eye already this season.
Jacob Ramsey's Villa career in numbers
The 22-year-old ace made his debut in the Championship during the 2018/19 campaign but did not make another league appearance for the club until the 2020/21 Premier League season.
He played 22 times, and started six of those outings, in the top-flight under Smith throughout that term, and failed to produce a goal or an assist for the team.
The England U21 international then hit his stride with six goals and one assist across 34 Premier League appearances for the Villans during the 2021/22 campaign.
His best campaign, in terms of goals and assists, came under Steven Gerrard and Emery last season, with six goals and seven assists in 35 Premier League games.
Appearances
35
Expected Goals
5.05
Goals
6
Big chances created
8
Assists
7
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.7
As you can see in the table above, Ramsey was an efficient finisher – having outperformed his xG – and had reason to be frustrated with his teammates as they only scored seven goals from the eight 'big chances' that he created for them.
The young dynamo has, unfortunately, been out with a foot injury at times this season. This has restricted him to 16 appearances and eight starts in the Premier League this term, in which time he has scored one goal and provided one assist.
Irrespective of his lack of regular action during this campaign, Ramsey is a role model for the current crop of academy youngsters to look up to as they aspire to emerge as first-team regulars under Emery.
Kellyman, who is also an attack-minded player, could be the next goalscoring midfielder to come through the academy and catch the eye for the Villans, which could make him the long-term heir to Diaby, who has had mixed success throughout the season.
Moussa Diaby's Villa stats this season
The club swooped to sign the France international winger from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a record fee of £51.9m last summer, and he has produced seven goals and eight assists in 41 matches so far.
He has not nailed down a guaranteed place in the starting XI in the Premier League under Emery, however, as the speedster has only started 18 of his 29 league appearances this season.
The 24-year-old whiz has been too wasteful in front of goal at times with a return of four goals from an xG of 5.04 – with five 'big chances' missed – in the division.
However, Diaby has offered impressive creativity with ten 'big chances' created and six assists in those 18 Premier League starts for the Villans, which means that he has created more than one 'big chance' every other start on average to provide his teammates with high-quality opportunities in front of goal.
The French gem is, however, currently on a run of zero goals and one assist in his last nine appearances in the English top-flight for Villa, which has contributed to his lack of starts.
Diaby, who predominantly plays on the right or through the middle as a left-footed forward, has been inconsistent in front of goal and will need to improve his output to work his way back into the team on a regular basis.
If his form does not improve then Kellyman could start to breathe down his neck as the 18-year-old Villa starlet has been in exceptional goalscoring form for the academy this season, and has already showcased his quality at first-team level despite his young age.
Why Omari Kellyman could be Moussa Diaby's heir
The teenage magician, who was once described as a "star in the making" by journalist Ashley Preece, is also a versatile left-footed attacker who can play centrally or out wide on the right – cutting in on his favoured foot to cause problems for the opposition.
Kellyman was handed his full first-team debut for Villa by Emery against Hibernian in a Europa Conference League qualifier back in August of last year.
Minutes played
90
Sofascore rating
7.1
Key passes
2
Assists
1
Duels contested
6
Duels won
4
As you can see in the table above, the teenage ace, who lined up alongside Jhon Duran up front, hit the ground running at senior level with an assist and a 67% duel success rate, which shows that he stood up to the physical test of professional football.
Kellyman has since returned to playing U21 football regularly for Villa and is currently on an exceptional return of eight goals in 12 matches across the Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy for the young Villans.
This means that he has scored more goals than Diaby (seven) has in 40 first-team matches in just 12 games for the U21s during the 2023/24 campaign.
The England U19 international could, therefore, have the potential to offer more of a goal threat to the team if he can develop and translate that form over to the senior squad in the future.
His creative quality was also on display with an assist on his full debut against Hibs earlier this season, and this suggests that the left-footed star could offer a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals at the top end of the pitch in a similar position to Diaby.
Therefore, Emery could eventually unearth his own homegrown heir to the France international with Kellyman, who is six years younger than the former Leverkusen star, by getting the teen star to follow in Ramsey's footsteps to become a first-team regular.
