MY ACCOUNT
There was something nostalgic about Aaron Ramsey’s Rangers loan switch — and the Welshman looks to have rediscovered his form of old.
Reduced to a bit-part role at Juventus, the 31-year-old midfielder jumped at the opportunity to join the Scottish champions on loan and enjoy regular club football once again.
And he could yet help spur Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side on to European glory this season.
Next up for the Gers is a Europa League quarter-final first-leg trip to Braga. Ahead of that game, we run the rule over Ramsey’s Rangers revival.
Rangers to the rescue
A succession of injuries saw Ramsey’s Juventus involvement heavily reduced.
Despite his reported £400,000-a-week salary in Turin, Ramsey was limited to just 24 Serie A starts in his first two seasons after joining on a free transfer from Arsenal.
Things went from bad to worse this term with Max Allegri handing the 72-cap international a miserly 103 minutes in the league for the Old Lady.
Ramsey’s career ran the risk of stagnating — until Rangers came to his rescue on January deadline day.
Performing under pressure
Ramsey’s future in Glasgow is not guaranteed beyond the end of the current campaign — but the magnitude of his Ibrox arrival made headlines.
Arguably Rangers’ most high-profile new face since Paul Gascoigne signed from Lazio in 1995, Ramsey’s arrival was a throwback to a time when the Old Firm sides could compete with English teams in the transfer market.
With that comes pressure to perform — not that it seems to be getting to Ramsey, who opened the scoring in last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Celtic.
That was his second goal in his last two league starts for the Scottish giants after being eased into first-team action.
The sample size is small — just 178 minutes in the Scottish Premiership — but Ramsey is already averaging 0.66 expected goals per 90 minutes and hitting the target with 1.89 efforts per game.
He is also averaging 3.79 touches in the opposition box per 90 and 1.89 progressive runs, all hallmarks of the Ramsey who shone at Arsenal.
Extension suggestion?
According to reports, Rangers are keen to keep Ramsey beyond the terms of his initial loan agreement.
Former Gers favourite Kenny Miller believes Van Bronckhorst’s side would benefit from retaining the Welshman.
Speaking after last weekend’s Old Firm defeat, he said: “I don’t think Rangers have improved the starting line-up since last year.
“Aaron Ramsey definitely improves it if he’s fit. We saw his class on Sunday.
“They had 42 or 43 crosses into the Celtic box, he’s the midfielder that’s breaking into the box.
“He wants to score goals, he’s hungry to score goals, he’s always been that way.”
The question is whether Ramsey will want to extend his stay in Glasgow or whether he will have aspirations of Champions League football.
If Rangers go all the way and win the Europa League, he will not need to look elsewhere for that.
A stepping stone?
Ramsey is under contract at Juventus until June 2023, but it has been reported that the Bianconeri are working on terminating his deal.
If that happens, Rangers will have to look at something more permanent, but without the Serie A giants subsidising Ramsey’s considerable salary.
So could his Ibrox stint simply be a stepping stone to signing for a club from Europe’s top five leagues?
There were rumours of interest from Everton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace during the last transfer window.
Newcastle could certainly afford Ramsey’s wages while Palace will have an attacking midfield vacancy next season if Conor Gallagher returns to parent club Chelsea.
After reporting losses of £120.9million for the last financial year, Everton are unlikely to be a viable option for the Welshman.
Ready to face the world
The World Cup is a little over six months away and Wales are a play-off against Scotland or Ukraine away from their first finals since 1958.
Ramsey, as one of his country’s two biggest stars along with Gareth Bale, has been key in Rob Page’s men getting this far.
But, like Bale, his club situation has been less than ideal.
His spot in the Dragons’ starting XI is all but guaranteed, but if Wales do make it to just their second World Cup finals, they will want Ramsey in the best possible shape.
There is a lot riding on his next move.
