Aston Villa manager Unai Emery watches during his friendly time with Rome (Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has admitted that he shares his disappointment over Jacob Ramsey’s sale to Newcastle United.
The 24-year-old offensive midfielder recently sealed off a permanent move from Villa to Newcastle for a fee of around £40 million.
Ramsey has been a key player at Villa Park, but the club has been under pressure for some of the best players to cash in.
So last summer, Douglas Lewis set out for Juventus, and John Duran was sold to Saudiian professional league club Alnasl in January.
Still, Emery admits that letting Ramsey go seemed to be a particularly harmful deal for him to agree.
Unai Emery deals with the batting blows of Jacob Ramsey’s transfer
When Emery was asked about how his players reacted to Ramsey’s departure, Emery admits that he shared their disappointment.
“I agree with the players with the same message they sent. I agree, but we have to move on and do our best,” the Spanish tactician said at a press conference.
“Of course they’re the same. They’re friends and maybe they can feel a little sad.
“In football, you have to keep moving forward. They’re sending messages in the same direction, so I agree.”
This is a post from Villa captain John McGinn and several others on social media to say emotional farewell to Ramsey and express his sadness as he leaves the club.
Ramsey passes through the Villa Academy and falls down as a pure profit sale, but losing a team player useful to rivals like Newcastle is certainly a blow.