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Aston Villa of England have unfolded yet another Nigerian-born lad, as Timothy (Tim) Iroegbunam has signed his first professional contract with the Birmingham City-based side.
Iroegbunam, who was benched for all 90 minutes of Villa’s 1-0 loss at home against Arsenal on Saturday in the English Premier League, will now aim to follow in the footsteps of others before him.
Megasportsarena.com reports that top of the pile among the club’s former Nigerian-born players are Tammy Abraham and current rising stars, the Chukwuemeka brothers, Caleb and Carney.
This follows reports that Iroegbunam has signed a new contract with the club, which announced that the midfielder’s deal runs until 2027 and he becomes a full-time member of Steven Gerrard’s first-team squad.
Iroegbunam, who is already an England under-19 international, arrived at Villa as an academy signing last summer from West Bromwich Albion, where he started as an under-8 before progressing through the ranks.
The 18-year-old lad has been training regularly with the first team this term and made his senior debut as a substitute against Brighton & Hove Albion last month.
Iroegbunam has attended England age group training camps in the past and Villa’s academy coach, Mark Harrison stated easrlier that he believes he has a bright future.
Harrison said: “Tim is an athletic midfielder who is technically very good. He has the ability to play as a holding midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder.
“(He) can contribute in both penalty areas. Tim has a lot of potential and we look forward to seeing him develop over the next few years.”
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