Calvin Ramsay’s club record move from Aberdeen to Liverpool has been confirmed.
The 18-year-old will join the Reds in a £4.5million deal which could be worth up to £8m if Ramsay hits appearance-related add-ons.
The Scotland under-21 international has enjoyed a rapid rise from being a promising youth player at Pittodrie to the newest member of Jugen Klopp’s squad at Champions League finalists Liverpool.
Here are some pictures from his journey to one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Local loon done good
Ramsay grew up in Aberdeen and recently returned his former primary school Braehead to speak to pupils about his life as a professional footballer.
We got a fantastic surprise this afternoon! We were told that we had a surprise visitor. Our surprise guest was CALVIN RAMSAY!!!!! He answered lots of our questions and he told us about his time when he was a pupil here at Braehead. He donated a signed Aberdeen Football Club top! pic.twitter.com/AyERce2FTN
— Braehead School (@BraeheadSchool1) June 13, 2022
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.
Not just a talented footballer
Ramsay was also a keen runner and finished third in the secondary schools 2.5k at Balmoral in 2017 and was fifth the following year.
He was also a regular at the Aberdeen parkrun 5k, completing the weekly run along the beach promenade on more than 70 occasions between 2015 and 2019, finishing first on a number of occasions.
And, in 2015, he was narrowly beaten into second position in the Union Street mile secondary schools race.
Ramsay’s potential also shone through on the track, finishing 10th in the 2017 East of Scotland 1500m championship race at Grangemouth.
First team breakthrough
Following the departure of Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes, interim boss Paul Sheerin handed Ramsay his first appearance as a late substitute in a 1-0 defeat by Dundee United on March 20, 2021.
He made his first start for the Dons in the club’s next game – a 1-0 Scottish Cup win at Dumbarton.
Calvin Ramsay made his first Aberdeen start in a Scottish Cup tie against Dumbarton.His talent was spotted by McInnes’ successor Stephen Glass who made him his first choice at right back.
That faith was rewarded with a strong start to the season with Ramsay contributing four assists in six Europa Conference League qualifiers, setting up goals against BK Hacken, Breidablik and FK Qarabag.
Ramsay’s deadly deliveries from set pieces and crosses helped him climb the assist chart with the youngster chipping in with nine assists from 33 games for the Dons during the course of the 2021-22 season.
Ramsay’s only goal for the Dons came in a 2-2 draw against Dundee at Dens Park on April 2.
He has been capped three times by Scotland at under-21 level, featuring in two European Championship qualifiers against Turkey and once against Kazakhstan.
Ramsay’s reward for his impressive breakthrough season at Pittodrie was being named SPFL Young Player of the year by the Scottish Football Writers’ Association.
Italian side Bologna and a number of English Premier League sides including Leeds United were linked with the player.
But it was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool who won the race for the player’s signature.
The Dons are due to receive £4.5million for the defender and could receive an additional £3.5m in add-ons.
Our new #️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/FxIY3VDCYC
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 19, 2022
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