The academy graduate enjoyed a strong season out on loan in the Championship.
Unai Emery, the head coach of Aston Villa, and Monchi, the club’s sporting director, behaved ruthlessly throughout the summer transfer window by allowing a number of players to leave the organization.
This summer, who left Aston Villa?
At the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, Jed Steer and Ashley Young had their contracts terminated, and the latter had joined Premier League opponent Everton.
However, the club also approved the transfers of four academy graduates who had spent the previous season on loan in the Championship.
Instead of being given the chance to prove their worth for Emery’s club over the coming months, Jaden Philogene, Cameron Archer, Aaron Ramsey, and Keinan Davis were all transferred to Hull City, Sheffield United, Burnley, and Udinese, respectively.
The sale of Archer to the Blades was especially lucrative for Villa, who reportedly received a sum of £18.5 million for the man they developed from scratch.
Tim Iroegbunam, who had a standout season on loan at Queens Park Rangers last year, may be the next such success story for the club’s youth.
The center midfielder, who is presently sidelined with an undisclosed ailment, attracted everyone’s attention when playing for Villa in the Championship. As a result, his market value has increased in 2023.
What was Tim Iroegbunam’s net worth the previous year?
The 20-year-old’s expected transfer value (xTV) was estimated by Football Transfers to be €2.3 million (£1.9 million) at the end of 2022. This was partly due to his performances in the academy and few first-team appearances for Villa before to his loan with QPR.
Iroegbunam played four times for the U21 team in the EFL Trophy and three times in the Premier League during the 2021/22 season.
In those three top-flight appearances, he produced 2.4 tackles and interceptions per game and impressively won 80% of his individual duels. He also demonstrated his defensive prowess for the young squad with 4.8 tackles and interceptions per game in four Football League Trophy contests.
The gifted youngster, who started his youth career with West Bromwich Albion, also played 15 times for the Villans academy in Premier League 2 that year.
How did Tim Iroegbunam fare in the previous campaign?
The superb enforcer received a loan transfer to Championship team QPR in the summer of 2022 as a result of his appearances for Villa’s first team. The tenacious midfielder went on to play 32 league games for the R’s.
Over the course of the season, the England U20 international averaged 2.8 tackles, interceptions, and goals from the middle of the park while also showcasing his excellent defensive instincts.
The fact that Jacob Ramsey (2.7) and John McGinn (2.6) both made the same amount of tackles and interceptions per game for Villa in the Premier League during that time span demonstrates that the young prodigy is putting up strong figures in that area.
It was his first time regularly participating in senior football, and he was able to withstand the physical demands of the second division thanks to his many interventions per game and 50% ground duel success rate.
What is Tim Iroegbunam now worth?
His market value has increased by 161% since the beginning of the year thanks to his QPR performances, reaching €6 million (£5.1 million).
This demonstrates that the player making £12,000 a week is one who is on the rise, making him a potentially important asset for Villa to either exploit or make use of in their first-team setup in the future.
In particular, if the player is not thought to be talented enough for Emery’s team, Archer is a fantastic illustration of how the club may use academy players to produce money to bolster the senior squad.
He gained significant senior experience playing against professionals at that time at Deepdale, which he later exploited to shine when on loan with Middlesbrough last season under Michael Carrick’s leadership.
In 20 appearances for the team this year, Archer averaged a phenomenal Sofascore rating of 7.11 while scoring an amazing 11 goals and providing six assists as they managed to go to the play-off semifinals before losing to Coventry City.
Only Ramsey (seven) and Ollie Watkins (15) combined for more than six league goals and assists for Villa’s first team in the top division last season.
These figures demonstrate that the English teenager was able to advance and flourish during his second brief stay away from Villa Park, which persuaded Sheffield United to fork out the dough to sign him to a permanent contract so he could captain their Premier League offense.
If the Villans are successful in finding him the ideal loan for the second half of the 2023–24 season, Iroegbunam could now follow in Archer’s footsteps. He gained a foundational level of experience at that level during his time with QPR, which may now enable him to advance at another club next year.
He still has lots of time to grow and develop as he is only 20 years old, and another six months might be enough to allow him to continue his upward trajectory, which will be underlined by his rising market value during 2023.
The promising player, who was once hailed as “impressive” by former manager Michael Beale, is thus Villa’s next production gem and could either become a future star for Emery’s first team or give the Spanish manager more money to work with, like Archer did, if they are able to sell him.
They have already achieved success thanks to their outstanding work over the past few years, but a sizable sale in the coming years would make them truly prosperous.
