He has become the hottest property at Pittodrie but just who is Aberdeen’s latest bright young thing Calvin Ramsay?
Champions League finalists Liverpool lead the way in the race for the Dons right-back’s signature this summer, while a host of clubs in England and Europe are also tracking the teenager.
Ramsay’s meteoric rise comes after little more than a year of first-team football, but he was on the radar of clubs long before he made his debut at the end of last season.
Spotted at Cove Boys Club, Ramsay was invited for a trial with the Dons at the age of eight and has been on the club’s books since.
Ramsay came through the SFA performance school at Hazlehead where he spent four years before signing his first professional contract with the Dons.
Ramsay’s rapid rise to first team player at Pittodrie
Ramsay was given his first-team debut at the age of 17 by interim boss Paul Sheerin when he came off the bench in injury-time in the Dons 1-0 defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice on March 20 2021.
He went on to play six games before the end of the campaign and started this season as Aberdeen’s first-choice right-back.
He has repaid the backing shown in him by scoring one goal and providing nine assists in his 33 appearances for the Dons so far this season.
🚀 Calvin Ramsay 👏🏽
⚽ A first ever Aberdeen goal for our @AberdeenFCYouth Academy graduate.#StandFree | @calvinramsay03 pic.twitter.com/NwkhzPBjpw
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) April 3, 2022
It’s those sort of numbers which have caught the eye of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, who is looking for an understudy for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Eight of those assists came in the first half of the campaign, prompting Italian Serie A side Cagliari to table a bid of £4.8million in January.
The Dons rejected the offer.
Given Aberdeen stood firm in turning down what would have been a record sale, it seems reports of Ramsay being allowed to move on for £3 million this summer seem wishful thinking.
Having rejected a near £7 million offer for Scott McKenna during his time at Pittodrie in 2018, only to sell the defender for half that amount later to Nottingham Forest two years later, Aberdeen are understandably unlikely to be so generous a second time.
After all, unlike McKenna’s case, we’re talking a matter of months down the line, not years when it comes to Ramsay.
What is Calvin Ramsay’s value in the current market?
The short answer is whatever Aberdeen deem it to be, but don’t expect the Dons to jump at the first offer which comes their way – unless it’s in the too good to turn down category.
There is little doubt Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin rates the teenager highly after labelling the player one of the best young full-backs in world football.
Ramsay’s form in what has been a disappointing campaign for his club led to the full-back being named young player of the year by the Scottish Football Writers Association last April.
He was also shortlisted for the young player award by PFA Scotland and has been elevated to the Scotland under-21s, despite still being only 18.
Goodwin has also made it clear such lofty praise will carry with it, a valuation to match.
In other words, time-wasters need not apply when the inevitable interest in the player results in bids arriving at Pittodrie this summer.
The question remains as to how much a club will have to offer if they want to entice the Dons into parting company with their player.
Rangers banked in the region of £12 million, which could rise to £16 million for Nathan Patterson when they sold the player to Everton in January.
Aberdeen should be looking to get close to the original £7 million they were offered for McKenna four years ago.
Patterson moved for only 27 appearances for Rangers first team over two seasons. Ramsay has eclipsed Patterson’s first-team experience and is two years younger than the Toffees defender.
Rangers’ profile will have skewed the valuation for their player and it might seem unrealistic to expect a similar offer for Ramsay.
But the Dons are not being unreasonable in looking for more than the offer they deemed unsatisfactory four months ago.