Aston Villa have produced a wealth of exciting young talent in recent years, with many now pushing or having already secured places in the first team.
Jacob Ramsey stands as the crowning jewel of these products, having become a mainstay in Steven Gerrard’s side.
Another who seems poised to follow a similar career path is Tim Iroegbunam, who has already starred this season for a sensational Queens Park Rangers team.
With a new manager in Unai Emery now too, it marks a fresh slate for everyone to impress.
The 19-year-old has already featured nine times in the Championship, with his team sitting second with a game in hand on first-placed Burnley.
For someone who is so young and features so often, an average SofaScore rating of 6.82 marks a fine start to life in senior football.
Should Unai Emery give Tim Iroegbunam a chance?
Often youngsters will begin far lower down the football pyramid to build their way up to the level of this Villa wonderkid, who has started his senior career near the very top.
Having featured as more of a deep-lying playmaker, his 1.8 tackles per game combined with a 79% pass accuracy outline him as a solid mainstay in Michael Beale’s side.
This season, Douglas Luiz has performed at a higher level than this, but not that which makes it impossible to believe that Iroegbunam can one day challenge the Brazilian for his spot.
He is averaging an 84% pass accuracy and 1.4 tackles per game, with an increased SofaScore rating of 6.91 to show for it.
At the back end of last season, when the 24-year-old had to be substituted due to a yellow card, Gerrard was full of praise for the youngster who took his place.
He said: “Dougie was on a yellow card and I didn’t want to go down to 10 men because it was important we stopped the losing run, it was important we kept a clean sheet and I thought Tim was terrific today.
“He played with calmness and maturity and he’s going to be looking at me all week for more game time now. He’s a top professional. He’s in the gym before training, he’s in the gym after.”
Clearly boasting a remarkable mindset, and sensational abilities for someone so young, it will not be long before he is knocking on Emery’s door for Luiz’s spot.
