Aston Villa should bear Steven Gerrard's prediction in mind at transfer crossroads

On one hand, Aston Villa have nothing to lose when it comes to Tim Iroegbunam. Heralded as one of the most talented players to emerge from the West Bromwich Albion academy in recent years, and having claimed the academy player of the year award there in 2021, he joined Villa when penning his first senior contract after a nominal compensation fee.

With a Championship campaign at Queens Park Rangers under his belt, Iroegbunam's previously slender frame has filled out and he now possesses the athletic traits with which you require to cut it at the top level - that's before you mention the ability, which he clearly boasts too. Now, with Villa's upward trajectory perhaps travelling quicker than Iroegbunam's right now, they have found themselves at a crossroads.

Everton are understood to be interested. Iroegbunam has minimal Premier League playing time to his name right now, but Villa can stand firm with their demanded fee in mind. As mentioned, they've nothing to lose with Iroegbunam. Not immediately at the forefront of Unai Emery's mind when he selects his squad week to week, a sale would also help to ease those pesky Profitability and Sustainability pressures as Iroegbunam is 'pure profit'.

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And yet, you can't help wondering what might've been if Iroegbunam does indeed leave for Goodison Park. A regular in the England youth set-up - he has played regularly for the under 20s and won the under 19 Euros in 2022 - Iroegbunam has international recognition which is a nod to his talent and potential for senior involvement further down the line if he continues to progress in such a way as he is now.

Emery quite clearly likes him, too. He decided to retain Iroegbunam in January when allowing a more senior midfield option in Leander Dendoncker to leave for Napoli, because he considered him to be ahead of the Belgian in the pecking order. “When I watched him on loan and now training every day, I believe in his potential," Emery said at the time.

Villa, who are operating in the Champions League and whose rise has been stratospheric and so rapid that the team of staff who work for the club off the field in a revenue sense can't keep up in the short term, can't afford to wait on potential right now. Emery and Monchi are looking for tried and tested, high quality additions this summer. Ross Barkley, for example, ticks those boxes. Conor Gallagher, you'd argue, is another who does too.

Suddenly, Iroegbunam - already behind John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Youri Tielemans, Jacob Ramsey and Boubacar Kamara - would have a deeper level of competition for minutes, even if Luiz is to leave this summer. The pity for Villa, though, who have clearly aided Iroegbunam's progress immensely and have continued the work Albion ploughed in in his formative years, is that it's tricky to see where an opening might present itself.

“He’s got all the attributes to be a top Premier League player in my opinion," his former boss Steven Gerrard said of Iroebgunam, when he'd granted him a pathway into the first-team and handed him his first-team debut. “He’s got a really exciting future in front of him." Whatever you think of Gerrard's time in charge, you cannot doubt his footballing knowledge and understanding of what it takes to cut it at the highest level.

If Iroegbunam is to leave for Everton in this window, the Toffees could well be the beneficiaries if the player himself proceeds to prove Gerrard right - but that, certainly with the PSR rules in mind and a need to balance the books accordingly, won't necessarily be Villa's fault; it'd merely be a shame that they weren't the ones to accommodate Iroegbunam's breakthrough.

Would you keep or sell Iroegbunam? Tell us in the comments

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