Tim Iroegbunam 42

Everton signed Tim Iroegbunam in a £9m deal from Aston Villa in the summer of 2024, with the 20-year-old signing a three-year contract.

With the Blues still operating under strict austerity due to the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR)and the Club's ongoing financial struggles as Farhad Moshiri continued his long-running quest to sell his majority stake, Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, was focused on signing younger talent for relatively small fees.

With Villa having PSR concerns of their own, it made sense to cash in on one of their up-and-coming players and Iroegbunam (pronounced Iro-bew-nam) was effectively one half of player exchange that saw Lewis Dobbin go the other way for a similar fee. Both clubs were able to book pure profits from players with almost no book value, thereby alleviating their deficits vis-a-vis the spending limits.

Iroegbunam began his career at West Bromwich Albion and was named on the substitutes' bench in May 2021 for a Premier League fixture against Leeds but didn't make it onto the pitch.

He was snapped up by Villa and signed for their Under-23 side that summer and would go on to make 19 senior appearances for the Birmingham club.

The bulk of his experience prior to joining Everton came the Championship with Queens Park Rangers in 2023-24 where he played 32 games and scored twice.

A versatile member of a possession-based team, Iroegbunam demonstrated an ability to play as either a deep-lying No.6 or as a more attack-minded No.8, qualities that will, no doubt, have attracted him to Sean Dyche who was expecting to lose Amadou Onana in the summer 2024 transfer window.

Observers of his season at QPR admit that Iroegbunam shares Onana's languid style and it is hoped that, in time, he could step into the enigmatic Belgian's shoes in Everton's midfield.

FactFile