Eddie Howe has already decided what position Jacob Ramsey will play for Newcastle

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After a long and frustrating transfer window, Newcastle United are closing in on the signing of Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa.

Over the years, Jacob Ramsey has been linked with some high-profile Villa exits, but he’s ultimately always remained at Villa Park.

However, it now looks as if Ramsey will finally leave Villa to join Newcastle, which will come as welcome relief to fans at St James’ Park.

Ramsey wants to join Newcastle – he wasn’t keen on interest from either West Ham United or Everton.

And after Eddie Howe watched his side miss out on Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro and Hugo Ekitike just to name a few, he’ll be a happy man once Ramsey is holding up a Newcastle scarf.

Jacob Ramsey will play in a slightly different position when he joins Newcastle

All in all, Ramsey made 29 appearances under Unai Emery last season, a campaign that was partly disrupted by a hamstring issue.

And given that Newcastle are well-stocked on the left and in the middle, fans on Tyneside might be wondering where Ramsey will fit in.

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Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes are competing for the starting spot on the left wing, even if the former is filling in as a striker during the Alexander Isak debacle. 

And in the middle, Newcastle’s starting trio of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton is locked in.

However, according to journalist Chris Waugh who was writing for The Athletic, Howe actually envisions that Ramsey will be able to challenge that trio, and in particular, Joelinton.

Waugh simply wrote: “Ramsey is seen as an ideal long-term successor to provide competition for Joelinton as a left-sided No 8.”

And considering the role Ramsey has played for Villa, that will be quite a significant change.

Jacob Ramsey will need to make changes to compete with Joelinton

In his career thus far, Ramsey has made a lot of appearances as central midfielder, playing in an advanced role and supporting the attack.

But the Englishman has predominantly played in a left-wing role, and even as a number 10.

Dovetailing with Joelinton will certainly require a different skill set than what Ramsey is used to. 

Joelinton was superb in a box-to-box role for Newcastle last season, and it’s almost hard to remember the days when he was a struggling number nine under Steve Bruce.

But a big part of Joelinton’s game is now about explosive runs and big duels – something Ramsey is capable of doing, but there’s clearly some adjustment to be made.

Either way, Howe will be delighted to welcome a long-term target to Tyneside.