Everton’s Tim Iroegbunam on Dyche as Emery’s replacement: ‘Different style but I’ll adapt and move on’

Things changed quickly Tim Iroegbunam This summer.

The midfielder, now 21, was on the Greek island of Mykonos with friends in June when he received his first phone call from his agent. Everton‘s offer.

Less than a week later, Transfer from Aston Villa for £9 million ($11.5 million) completed, with winger Lewis Dobbin is going in the opposite direction in a separate agreement. Two agreements completed before the June 30 fiscal year end, both clubs improved their PSR positions.

“My agent probably knew for a little bit longer,” says Iroegbunam Athletic“But it all happened in about five days.

“When I was in Mykonos I got calls from my agent saying the offer was on the table. Then I had a few video calls with (Everton’s director of football) Kevin (Thelwell) and he explained the club, where they see me and the plan.

“Kevin was telling me about the club’s history, the new stadium and Goodison.”

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Thelwell’s presentation was two-fold. There was a detailed discussion of where Iroegbunam would fit in — “He asked me if I saw myself as a No. 6 or a No. 8” — and there was also a presentation showcasing Everton’s new stadium on the edge of the city, which is expected to host its first competitive match in just over a year.

“The new stadium looked unreal,” he says with a smile. “They were posting about it on Instagram. It’s always in the back of my mind because it’s exciting.”

Iroegbunam had been planning a trip to the Indonesian island of Bali before news of Everton’s interest broke. Keen to make a positive first impression at his new club, Iroegbunam now describes the decision to cancel the trip as an easy one.

He spent his short summer break with friends, mostly in the local Powerleague in Birmingham, including under 21s and Minor league players.

“I was thinking, ‘Bali, then straight into pre-season? I need that extra week to get going again’. I can always go to Bali,” he says.

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Iroegbunam has been philosophical about his departure from Villa and how it turned out.

He is used to change, having joined Villa from boyhood club West Brom in the summer of 2021 at the age of 18.

Last season was supposed to be a big breakout season for him Premier League level. After a successful loan spell in a championship team Queens Park RangersHe was expected to play a bigger role at Villa Park. That January, manager Unai Emery decided to keep Iroegbunam ahead of the experienced Belgian international Leander Dendonker and spoke of his “belief” in the youngster’s potential.

However, the final decision never came and Iroegbunam finished the season with just one starting 11 appearance in the Premier League and playing in a total of nine matches.

“I was there for three years so it was part of my life,” he says. “But I wouldn’t say it was difficult (leaving) because I was at West Brom before that.

“You’re going to have to move, so you have to keep going. That happens in football”.

But there is still a sense of what could happen, and a sense that there are out-of-control circumstances under Emery that are inhibiting his ability to make his case.

Iroegbunam was at QPR for the start of the 2022-23 season as a replacement for Spaniard Steven Gerrard. On his return, Iroegbunam suffered an injury early in pre-season. He talks of “making up for it” and “feeling like I never got into my rhythm”.

Adapting to the intricacies of Emery’s system has not been easy, but his overall impressions of working under the highly respected manager at Villa are positive.

“He was good,” Iroegbunam says. “The way he played was always the same. Of course he would change a few little details but the basics were the same. You either did it or you didn’t.

“He liked his midfielders to be calm with the ball and not rush, to take their time. But if it was about getting past your man or pulling players, he wanted you to do that and create space for others.

“He wanted you to stay central and not spread out wide, to play with confidence and to play forwards, avoiding back passes as much as possible.”

We are speaking during Everton’s pre-season training camp in Ireland, with Iroegbunam awaiting confirmation that he can move from his Liverpool hotel to his new permanent home. His first training sessions have been tough but positive.

“It’s been good to settle in, to get to know the boys,” he says. “It started off quite tough. Villa’s wasn’t too bad but I only played for a week and a half and then I got injured. So this is my first real pre-season training. It’s tough. You have to be mentally strong to get through it.”

The demands at Everton under Dyche will be different to what he experienced at Villa. He is still adapting, but the early signs are positive. Iroegbunam has impressed his manager in both matches and training during pre-season.

“The style of football is different,” he says. “Today, I must have lost the ball and I didn’t react quickly enough. He (Dyche) was saying to me, ‘It’s okay to lose the ball, just make sure you’re ready to try and win it back.’

“It depends on how long it takes me to adapt. I can go from there.”

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The conversation turns to Thelwell’s question about roles.

Iroegbunam is a versatile midfielder who can assist in transitions and slide around the pitch.

At Villa, Emery once described him as a “centre-back” – a player who would sit in front of the defence and in front of the screen – but much of his best work for QPR came when he had the freedom to move forward.

“I like playing as a number eight because you’re more involved,” he says. “You can get out there and defend. A number six is ​​a bit more of a defensive role, limited. When I was at QPR and played a few games as a number eight, I was flying.”

In 32 appearances, including 28 starts, during the championship-winning season, Iroegbunam scored twice. He was neither particularly creative nor involved in much playmaking, finding himself in the bottom 33rd percentile for touches and bottom 25th percentile for passes attempted among his positional peers. His expected assisted goals (xAG) total for the season was just 0.7.

But Iroegbunam stands out in other areas, as shown in the smarterscout chart for the 2022-23 season at QPR (below). This gives players a range of ratings from zero to 99 based on how often they perform a particular action or how effective they are at it — You can read more about it here.

Iroegbunam is profiled as a prolific carrier (green bars) and an active presence in defence (brown bars). Note his carrying and dribbling volume (94) and his score for disrupting opposition moves (94).

Style-wise there are similarities to the former Everton midfielder Amadou Onananow at Villa. Both can win the ball back and run forward. However, Onana is cleaner on the ball and had one of the best retention rates in the Everton squad last season. During 2022-23, Iroegbunam was under 27% for miscontrols and under 37% for turnovers.

Again, England Under-20 international Iroegbunam has significant potential and fits Everton’s buying policy to develop hungry young talent. While he is unlikely to establish himself as a regular starter straight away, he probably has a clearer path to first team minutes than he did at Villa.

“I want to show everyone what I can do, what I can bring to this club, finish as high as possible and go even further,” he says.

After a busy and promising summer, Iroegbunam has the chance to do just that.

(Top photo: Tony Mcardle/Everton FC)