Howe wants players to 'step up' - is this Ramsey's time to shine?

Jacob Ramsey once stood on the Holte End.

But the Newcastle United midfielder quickly showed where his allegiances now lie on his return to Villa Park last week.

The boyhood Aston Villa supporter jokingly kissed the Newcastle badge on his training top after spotting former team-mate Morgan Rogers warming up before their FA Cup tie.

Rogers could not help but smile as he repeatedly gave his close friend the thumbs down in response.

It would have been an unimaginable exchange not so long ago.

Ramsey was "Villa through and through", as one former colleague put it, and had been on the club's books since the age of six.

However, Villa were effectively incentivised to cash in on the academy graduate for pure profit last summer after he entered the final two years of his contract.

The midfielder felt ready for a fresh start, but he understandably found those first few days at Newcastle a little strange after completing his £40m move.

It was his first permanent switch of his career.

Ramsey was putting on a different kit, living out of a suitcase in a hotel and based 200 miles away from his family and friends in Birmingham.

But the 24-year-old has started to truly look at home in Eddie Howe's side in recent weeks.

"It can never be underestimated how difficult it is for any player to leave a club you have been associated with for so long," the Newcastle head coach said.