Timothy Emeka Iroegbunam (pronounced /ɪrəˈbnəm/, irr-ə-BOO-nəm;[4] born 30 June 2003) is a British footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Everton.

Tim Iroegbunam
Personal information
Full name Timothy Emeka Iroegbunam[1]
Date of birth (2003-06-30) 30 June 2003 (age 21)[2]
Place of birth Great Barr, England[3]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
Everton
Number 42
Youth career
Sutton United
0000–2021 West Bromwich Albion
2021–2022 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Aston Villa 12 (0)
2022–2023Queens Park Rangers (loan) 32 (2)
2024– Everton 6 (0)
International career
2022 England U19 6 (0)
2022– England U20 7 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  England
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Winner 2022 Slovakia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:54, 5 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:26, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

Iroegbunam is a product of the West Bromwich Albion academy. He spent the 2022–23 season on loan at EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers, and also appeared for England at under-19 and under-20 levels, winning the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with the former in 2022.

Club career

edit

Youth career

edit

Iroegbunam played youth football in Sutton Coldfield for Sutton United - where at under-8s level, he played alongside future West Brom and Aston Villa teammate Louie Barry.[5] Iroegbunam started his career at West Bromwich Albion, appearing once on the bench for a Premier League game against Leeds United on 23 May 2021.[6]

Aston Villa

edit

Iroegbunam signed for Aston Villa in an undisclosed deal in July 2021, joining their under-23 academy side.[7] After featuring on the bench several times,[8] Iroegbunam made his Premier League debut on 26 February 2022, as a late substitute for Philippe Coutinho in a 2–0 away victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.[9][10] He signed a contract extension in March 2022, running until 2027.[11] On 30 April 2022, Irogebunam was given his first Premier League start for Aston Villa, in a 2–0 victory over Norwich City playing 73 minutes before being substituted for Douglas Luiz.[12]

In September 2022, Iroegbunam signed for Championship club Queens Park Rangers on a season-long loan deal.[13] He made his EFL debut on 3 September, in a 1–0 defeat to Swansea City.[14] He scored his first goal in senior football on 25 February 2023, QPR's only goal in a 3–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.[15]

Everton

edit

In June 2024, Iroegbunam joined fellow Premier League club Everton for an undisclosed fee,[16][17] reported to be around £9m,[17] signing a three-year deal.[16] He made his debut for the Toffees during the opening game of the Premier League season, a 3-0 home loss to Brighton on 17 August 2024.[18]

International career

edit

Iroegbunam was given his first international call-up when he was named in the England under-20 team for the matches against Poland and Germany in March 2022.[19] In the same international break, Iroegbunam was included in the England U19 team and made his international debut on 23 March 2022, in a 3–1 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification win over Republic of Ireland.[20][21]

He was named in the England squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals[22] and featured heavily in the tournament. In the final, Iroegbunam appeared as a second half substitute as England beat Israel 3–1 in extra time.[23][24]

Iroegbunam made his England U20 debut as a substitute during a 3–0 victory over Chile at the Pinatar Arena on 21 September 2022.[25]

Personal life

edit

Born in England, Iroegbunam is of Nigerian descent.[26] His parents are both profoundly deaf; he also speaks British Sign Language.[27]

Career statistics

edit
As of match played 5 October 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Bromwich Albion U23 2020–21 1[a] 0 1 0
Aston Villa U21 2021–22 4[a] 0 4 0
2023–24 1[a] 0 1 0
Total 0 0 5 0 5 0
Aston Villa 2021–22 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2022–23 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
2023–24 9 0 1 0 0 0 5[b] 0 0 0 15 0
Total 12 0 1 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 19 0
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2022–23 Championship 32 2 0 0 0 0 32 2
Everton 2024–25 Premier League 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
Career total 50 2 1 0 3 0 5 0 6 0 64 2
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

edit

England U19s

References

edit
  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Tim Iroegbunam: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Who is Tim Iroegbunam? The latest Aston Villa academy star called up by Steven Gerrard". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Iroegbunam with a silent 'g'". Facebook. Everton F.C.
  5. ^ Preece, Ashley (1 March 2022). "Steven Gerrard's masterplan for Aston Villa wonderkid Iroegbunam". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Leeds finish with win over West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Tim Iroegbunam joins Aston Villa". Aston Villa Football Club. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Konsa double helps Villa down Foxes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Watkins scores as Villa win at Brighton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Brighton 0-2 Aston Villa highlights". Sky Sports.
  11. ^ "Tim Iroegbunam pens new contract". Aston Villa Football Club. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Norwich relegated with tame loss at Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Tim Iroegbunam joins QPR on season-long loan". Aston Villa Football Club. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  14. ^ Phelps, Luke (5 September 2022). "'He's going to have a good season' - QPR boss runs the rule over Aston Villa loanee Iroegbunam after his weekend debut". The72. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  15. ^ "QPR beaten by Blackburn in Ainsworth's first game in charge". Brent & Kilburn Times. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Everton Sign Iroegbunam". Everton F.C. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  17. ^ a b Townley, John (22 June 2024). "Everton complete £9m Aston Villa transfer". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Everton vs Brighton & Hove Albion live score, H2H and lineups | Sofascore".
  19. ^ Veevers, Nicholas (18 March 2022). "MU20s squad named for March". The Football Association. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  20. ^ Lewin, Becca (23 March 2022). "Report: Republic of Ireland 1-3 England MU19s". The Football Association. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Chukwuemeka at the double for England U19s". Aston Villa Football Club. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Aston Villa trio named in England squad for U19 Euros". Aston Villa Football Club. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  23. ^ Honeyman, Sam (1 July 2022). "Israel 1-3 England (aet): Chukwuemeka and Ramsey the extra-time heroes as Young Lions fight back". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Israel U19 1-3 England U19 (AET): Young Lions stage extra-time fightback to win European Championship". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 July 2022.[permanent dead link]
  25. ^ Crane, Liam (21 September 2022). "Report: England MU20s 3-0 Chile". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Official : 2003-born midfielder of Nigerian descent offered new deal by West Brom :: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  27. ^ x.com https://x.com/BBCMOTD/status/1839693625346650356. Retrieved 27 September 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ^ "T. Iroegbunam". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
edit