Philippe Coutinho posted on Instagram that Tim Iroegbunam played well on his Aston Villa debut on Saturday.
During Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Brighton, the 19-year-old was handed his first minutes as a Premier League footballer when he came on with five minutes left on the clock for Coutinho.
After the match, the Brazilian playmaker sent the following message on the midfielder’s IG post: “Congrats bro, well played.”
During Villa’s recent barren run, fans have felt that Iroegbunam deserved some time on the pitch given how the midfield has been performing.
Douglas Luiz, in that deep midfield role, hasn’t had the best of times, but Steven Gerrard has continued to stick with him.
But given that Iroegbunam has now tasted minutes with the big boys, it will be interesting to see if that now starts to increase his time out on the pitch during these coming weeks.
Whilst Gerrard will be keen to express that, as early as February, this isn’t a nothing season for Villa, it might end up being like that during the final weeks of the campaign.
It seems as though it will be another midtable finish for Villa, and if that’s the case, then during these final few months, it would be great for the fans to see some of their younger players.
Jacob Ramsey has thrived this season and might end up winning the supporters Player of the Season award.
Whilst Carney Chukwuemeka has also showcased his magic at times, so perhaps it’s Iroegbunam’s time now, as well as Tommi O’Reilly, who made the bench for the first time against Brighton.
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