Tim Iroegbunam’s journey at Everton has been a mix of promise and uncertainty so far.
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The final days of the January transfer window were a test of patience for Tim Iroegbunam.
Although Everton turned down a significant offer from Championship side Ipswich Town early in the month, the sense from all parties—even late on—was that a move for the midfielder hadn’t been completely ruled out.
Inquiries came from Italy and Spain, some quite tempting, but Everton’s valuation of the player, close to £20 million ($27 million at current exchange rates), kept potential buyers away.
The window closed with Iroegbunam still at Goodison Park. Yet that January situation mirrors much of his two years on Merseyside so far.
The 22-year-old has remained in a state of limbo—not quite securing a permanent spot in David Moyes’ lineup, but showing enough flashes that the club hasn’t been willing to let him go.
David Moyes has described Iroegbunam as an “interesting young player” (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Iroegbunam’s path has always been a bit unusual. As a teenager at West Bromwich Albion, he stood out in the academy, catching Everton’s eye during a 2021 FA Youth Cup win against his future club. That led to a move to Aston Villa in 2022 and England youth caps.
At Villa, he seemed on the verge of a breakthrough that never fully arrived, making 12 Premier League appearances with only 249 minutes of action before joining Everton in the summer of 2024.
Everton saw him as a rough diamond. The near £10 million deal—along with Lewis Dobbin moving from Merseyside to Villa for a similar fee—helped both clubs comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), as selling academy graduates counts as pure profit in accounting terms.
For Everton, it was a chance to resolve their own compliance issues while also adding a player they believed had high potential. They viewed Iroegbunam as someone with excellent physical and defensive attributes who needed to refine his technical skills. Early efforts also focused on building his stamina to last 90 minutes rather than just short bursts.
Two years later, progress has been made. Competition in Everton’s midfield is fierce, but Iroegbunam has done enough to become Moyes’ first choice when one of the regular starters—Idrissa Gueye or James Garner—is unavailable.
Now, opportunity is knocking. Veteran Gueye, 36, hasn’t resumed training after an unspecified injury before the Manchester City match. Longer term, the Senegal international’s deal expires at the end of the season. Everton have an option to extend Gueye for another year, but he will turn 37 in September and can’t go on forever, even if he stays this summer.
Idrissa Gueye’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Replacing Gueye’s work rate and experience will be difficult. Everton may still look to the market for a new defensive midfielder this summer. But what Iroegbunam has now, in Gueye’s absence, is an audition. His own contract runs out at the end of next season, though the club holds an option for another 12 months. This feels like a defining period in his Everton career.
The two share certain traits, even if Iroegbunam is taller, more mobile, and Gueye is better on the ball. This season, only Tottenham’s Joao Palhinha has made more tackles per 90 minutes in the league, while Iroegbunam ranks first among all central and defensive midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for his “true” tackle win rate (69.3%), which measures the success of winning back possession in challenges.
The graphic below shows his impact protecting the defense as well as in wide and advanced areas.
Iroegbunam shines when driving forward with the ball or using his pace to chase runners and recover possession.
But in other areas, there are still question marks. He isn’t as positionally sharp as Gueye, often relying on his speed to recover. His passing and decision-making can be inconsistent. He sometimes tries to dribble out of trouble, losing the ball in dangerous areas—like before Jeremy Doku’s first goal in the 3-3 draw with City—or runs down blind alleys.
Iroegbunam is among the top five percent of Premier League players who lose possession most often per 90 minutes, and his dribble success rate of 39 percent puts him in the bottom 25 percentile. When he took a shot from distance against Palace last weekend, the ball ended up near the corner flag. Both he and Garner struggled to contain Palace as they pushed forward in the second half.
Everton have conceded an expected goals (xG) figure of 1.59 with him on the pitch, compared to 1.33 with Gueye and 1.52 with Garner—though this might be because he often plays when games are stretched or when his team is protecting a lead.
As a pure ball-winner, few are better than Iroegbunam. If he can improve in other areas, he would almost certainly secure a regular spot at Everton or elsewhere. Some who have followed his career closely believe he has the ability to take that step, but he needs regular playing time to do it.
“I think he’s an interesting young player,” Moyes said in a recent press conference, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “It could go either way for him. If he doesn’t get enough time, we need to look at it differently, but at the moment I like what I’m seeing from him.”
The summer will be another critical moment in Iroegbunam’s early career. But the next few weeks offer him a vital chance to prove his worth to Everton.