David Moyes discussed the progress of the 22-year-old just days after his man of the match performance against Man City
Tim Iroegbunam marks Erling Haaland during his man of the match display against Manchester City. Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Tim Iroegbunam marks Erling Haaland during his man of the match display against Manchester City. Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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Tim Iroegbunam has become David Moyes’ ‘go-to’ back-up central midfielder after working his way back from a torrid night earlier in the season.
The 22-year-old was taken off at half-time as Everton were overpowered at home to Newcastle United at Hill Dickinson Stadium back in October.
Yet the former Aston Villa prospect has shown resilience and determination to fight his way onto Moyes’ radar and has been repeatedly trusted with big game experience as a reward.
Iroegbunam’s campaign of promise was crowned with a man of the match trophy on Monday night after his excursions against Manchester City. The midfielder, who stepped in for the injured Idrissa Gueye, was excellent throughout in a lung-busting performance that ended in stoppage time when he collapsed with cramp after crashing into an advertising display to concede a late corner. Jeremy Doku’s sickening equaliser came in the seconds added on for his withdrawal.
It was a standout performance from Iroegbunam, the latest in a growing collection of solid performances that have enabled him to work his way into Moyes’s reckoning. That started at the Vitality Stadium in December, when he played an important role in the narrow win at Bournemouth and he has grown in stature since, starting both matches with Arsenal, the tight home defeat to Manchester United and then earned another place in the first XI against a City side gunning for the Premier League.
Reflecting on the development of of Iroegbunam, who attracted interest in January and is already the subject of more ahead of the summer, Moyes told the ECHO: “I think Tim's improved, he's come along, there's other parts of his game we want to improve but I think that he's helped us with his type - he’s quick around the pitch, very aggressive when he needs to be. He's another great boy to have in character-wise, great character, so we're happy to have him.”
Iroegbunam is a useful player for Moyes to call upon given his size, strength and speed - characteristics that set him apart from first choice midfielders James Garner and Idrissa Gueye. A lack of positional discipline and his struggle in the final third - frustrating given his ability to carry the ball through the heart of opposition midfields - had held him back but he has shown improvement on the former.
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Moyes has been pleased with that progress but wants to see more, saying: “We want improvement from him. He's having to challenge the likes of Gana [Gueye] and Jimmy [Garner] and the midfield players in there to get the position. He's also probably been in a situation where he got games when we didn't have as much, when Gana was away at AFCON and we weren't quite at our best around that period with a few too many injuries. Tim as well had a couple injuries with cramping up, and he did the other night, but he's certainly getting through much better now than he first was. So we hope he can step up.”
It is set to be a big summer for Iroegbunam as Everton look at their central midfield. Gueye, whose injury may present Iroegbunam with another chance to start when the Blues face Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, is currently out of contract - though Everton do have the option to extend the 36-year-old’s deal by another 12 months. Garner has emerged as one of the standout midfielders in the league this season and there will be competition from Merlin Rohl and Harrison Armstrong, while the club may also look to strengthen that area in the transfer market.
It will be for Iroegbunam to state his claim for a significant role amid that tumult but Moyes is pleased with what he has seen to date. He said: “I think he's an interesting young player. It could go either way for him, if he doesn't get enough time then we need to look at it differently, but at the moment I like what I'm seeing from him.”