Steven Gerrard was ‘delighted’ with Tim Iroegbunam in Aston Villa’s pre-season win over Brisbane Roar, and feels the midfielder’s displays are strong enough to reject any interest.
Iroegbunam enjoyed a chance to display his potential during the second-half in Townsville as Villa won 1-0 this Wednesday. Fellow Villans youngster Cameron Archer struck the only goal of the tie, while Kaine Kesler Hayden also featured in the Queensland Champions Cup.
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Such was the level Iroegbunam showed with his display that Gerrard told Birmingham Live that, at a push, he would keep the 19-year-old at Villa Park to let him challenge for a senior role next season. But he will not make a decision on a transfer until the end of the market.
Multiple Championship sides interested in loaning Iroegbunam of Aston Villa
Multiple Championship sides are interested in signing Iroegbunam on loan from Aston Villa for the upcoming season. Birmingham Live recently cited Sheffield United and Stoke City as two of the teams pushing the most to gain the West Brom product’s services this summer.
Iroegbunam made his senior breakthrough under Gerrard last term after joining the Villans from the Baggies’ academy ranks last year. He made his debut from the bench at Brighton & Hove Albion this February before a cameo at Leicester City and starting against Norwich.
Dean Smith had not promoted the teenager to the Villa Park first-team fold during his time at the helm last season. Gerrard, in contrast, only waited until his fourth game in charge to name Iroegbunam on the bench and would keep him around for a total of 23 fixtures in all.
Now, Iroegbunam is playing his way into a greater role under Gerrard next season after an impressive turnout in Aston Villa’s pre-season victory over Brisbane Road that left its mark.
“Tim played with discipline, I was delighted with Tim,” Gerrard enthused. “He’s really given me something to think about, whether to keep him in [the first-team] or not. But I’ll make a decision extremely late on that. But, if I was under pressure now, he’d be staying in.”
Aston Villa rewarded Iroegbunam with a new contract during March running to 2027 that also saw the teen become a fully-fledged first-team presence under Gerrard at Villa Park.
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