Nottingham Forest are actively searching for attacking midfield options to improve Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad, with Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey of interest.
Amid the chaos of Morgan Gibbs-White’s move to Tottenham, Forest were already looking at players who would fit a similar profile to the midfield talisman.
Ramsey was identified by Forest as a potential solution to a departing Gibbs-White, with the Villa academy graduate also able to play out wide.
Immediately in response to the news, Forest were incredibly excited about the Ramsey interest, but transfer expert Graeme Bailey has exclusively told Nottingham Forest News that the Reds aren’t exactly confident about their chances of signing him.
How Nottingham Forest feel about signing Jacob Ramsey
Ramsey was loved by Steven Gerrard at Villa as he asserted himself as a first-team regular at Villa Park, but Unai Emery’s side have a wealth of talent at their disposal that has led to Ramsey’s gametime being slashed.
Villa’s PSR position has also led to Ramsey being one that they could be willing to lose, but Bailey has told Nottingham Forest News that the City Ground is unlikely to be his destination.
Bailey said: “Forest like Ramsey, of course they do – not many teams in the Premier League don’t – but they are not alone and I am told that whilst they like him, they acknowledge it would be a very difficult deal to do.”
The initial report suggested that a £30m fee would be enough to secure Ramsey, half the price of Gibbs-White’s release clause.
It may seem hard to believe that Forest couldn’t do a deal for Ramsey, then, but it may be a blessing in disguise given his recent injury record at Villa.
Jacob Ramsey has struggled with injuries at Aston Villa
On his day, Ramsey is a candidate to make the England squad alongside or even ahead of Gibbs-White. Unfortunately, though, injuries have prevented him from showing this talent more often in recent years.
| Season | Games missed through injury |
| 22/23 | 4 |
| 23/24 | 36 |
| 24/25 | 10 |
According to Transfermarkt, those 36 games missed in the 23/24 season came as a result of four separate injuries, while two kept him out of 10 games last season.
He still featured in 29 Premier League games last season, but only 19 were starts which suggests that the previous season of injuries had a lasting impact on his physical abilities.
Gibbs-White started 34 Premier League games last season so if he is to need replacing in the Forest squad, someone who can match his fitness levels as well as his ability would be required.
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