Everton may be close to making their first signing of the summer. Tim Iroegbunam of Aston Villa is the target, a 20-year-old central midfielder who made 15 appearances for Villa this season after a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers during 2022-23.
According to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider, the deal is done and Everton will sign Iroegbunam in the range of 10 million pounds?! I'm not sure where that money is coming from, but maybe this deal is similar to Beto's one where Everton does not have to pay the full transfer sum upfront.
Either way, El Bobble has validated this news saying Everton is in advanced talks to sign the player. Iroegbunam is a more defensive midfielder, but he can push the pace with his dribbling and body control in the attack. He has a physical frame and uses his pace to cover ground and win in the air.
This sounds very familiar to Amadou Onana, whose rumored departure from Everton feels inevitable but only time will tell. With only 288 minutes played this season, Iroegbunam's statistics cannot tell a whole lot but give a glimpse of what he can do. He likes to draw fouls, win tackles and aerial duels and progress possession with his dribbling.
At just 20 years old, he can develop as depth behind Idrissa Gueye, James Gardner and Abdoulaye Doucoure. If Onana stays, he is another player to round out Everton's midfield. I think this signing can help Everton in both the short and long term. Iroegbunam could get some first-team minutes with the Toffees and become a mainstay in the lineup in the future.
We know Villa produces great talent from their academy when looking at the successes of Jacob and Aaron Ramsey and Cameron Archer to name a few. In a full season in the Championship with QPR, Iroegbunam recorded 1.73 tackles won per 90, 1.26 aerial duels won per 90, and 0.79 possessions won in the final third per 90. Each of these ranks in the 70th percentile or better.
Despite the concerns of Everton breaching PSR again, the issue might be slightly overblown, and may not be such an issue with the finalization of new ownership coming in. Iroegbunam's value is estimated at four million euros, a price Everton can deal with surely.
We will see what the details of the deal are if it gets done, but I'm confident Director of Football Kevin Thelwell negotiated good terms for Everton.