Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery agree as Everton close in on first summer signing

Everton are reportedly closing in on their first swoop of the summer transfer window.

Tim Iroegbunam is in talks with the Toffees about making the switch from Aston Villa. Reports have suggested that Sean Dyche’s side will pay a fee in the region of £10 million for the midfielder.

With Villa set to bring in former Goodison Park man Ross Barkley, Iroegbunam has seemingly been permitted an exit from the Birmingham-based outfit. Villa have profit and sustainability concerns and selling him would go down well on the balance sheet. He was signed from West Brom’s academy in 2021.

It’s unsurprisingly that Iroegbunam has made just 15 appearances for Villa. He’s still only 20 and in the formative stages of his career. There has also been a fruitful loan spell at QPR in the 2022-23 season when he scored twice in 32 games.

And it’s fair to say that both managers who have had Iroegbanum at Villa Park have held him in high regard. It was Steven Gerrard who promoted the England youth international into the first-team frame. After Gerrard’s arrival as Villa boss in Novemeber 2021, Iroegbunam found himself on the bench a month later - and would continue to be a regular substitute. It was in February 22 when he made his debut in a 2-0 victory over Brighton and then his full bow arrived two months later when Villa defeated Norwich City 2-0.

After the game, Gerarrd spoke highly of Iroegbanum, who was 18 at the time, and tipped him for a bright future.

“Every day is vital for Tim. He’s a real good professional, he needs to find his voice and come out of his shell,” Gerrard said via the Shropshire Star. “He needs to realise he is a first team player now, use his voice more he needs to keep pushing himself on a daily basis.

“He’s got all the attributes to be a top Premier League player in my opinion. We’ll keep working and developing him. He is still building relationships and getting used to the intensity from a training point of view.

“He’s got a really exciting future in front of him and he needs to take confidence and belief with the trust and opportunity he has had in the last few weeks. There will be plenty more for him moving forward if he keeps training consistently well.”

After having a fruitful loan at QPR, Iroegbanum returned to Villa Park last summer. He had a new manager in Unai Emery who he had to impress - and achieved that.

While John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara, Nicolo Zaniolo and Jacob Ramsay were ahead in the midfield pecking order, Iroegbanum proved an important squad player. And when it came to January, Emery underlined his faith in the youngster. Rather than sending Iroegbanum out on loan to get more experience, he instead decided it was Leander Dendoncker who would depart.

On his decision, Emery explained via the Athletic: “I decided to let Dendoncker leave and to keep Tim. I am going to work on giving him chances to progress in how we are trying to build.

“When I watched him on loan and now training every day, I believe in his potential. I kept him because I thought he would take more minutes than Dendoncker. We had to be strong in the decision.”

Iroegbanum made a total of 15 appearances in the 2023-24 season to help Villa qualify finish fourth in the Premier League - and qualify for the Champions League.

But with Everton short of options in the engine room after the exit of Andre Gomes, as well as Amadou Onana’s future uncertain, it appears that Iroegbanum could make the switch to Merseyside.