Tim Iroegbunam is now surely set for a move away from Aston Villa in the January transfer window after a development has emerged.
The Sunday Mirror journalist Darren Witcoop tweeted on Friday (22 December) that Villa are open to a permanent transfer for the 20-year-old.
He added that Queens Park Rangers, where the midfielder spent last season on loan, have added the England U-20 international to their list of targets ahead of the transfer window.
Iroegbunam started his career at West Brom before making the switch across Birmingham to Aston Villa in July 2021 for an undisclosed fee.
After making his senior debut in February 2022 in a 2-0 victory over Brighton, he signed a new five-year deal at Villa Park the following month.
Having made a couple more appearances in the first team, including in the 0-0 draw with Leicester City in April 2022, former Villa manager Steven Gerrard said the midfielder was “terrific” following his performance off the bench [BirminghamLive].
That was the height of his time among the senior side, though, as he hasn’t made a single appearance since the Carabao Cup victory over Bolton in August 2022.
That is in part down to the midfielder heading out on loan last season, where he scored two goals in 32 appearances for QPR in the Championship.
But that first-team exposure didn’t help his cause when he returned to Villa Park, with Iroegbunam yet to make an appearance under Emery despite being named on the bench on a few occasions this season.
The Villa boss clearly isn’t convinced he can play a role in his side moving forward after reportedly making the decision that he can leave the club in the upcoming window.
Whether or not the Villans will look to impose a buy-back clause in any potential deal is yet to be seen after the club took that approach with the sales of academy products Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey and Jaden Philogene over the summer.
Those moves were seen as a way to help balance the books and avoid any potential FFP issues further down the line, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if that is a consideration in Iroegbunam’s potential departure from the club.
