Aston Villa: Unai Emery will ‘look at’ Tim Iroegbunam transfer as new Ajax update emerges
Aston Villa will “look at” selling Tim Iroegbunam amid transfer interest from Ajax during the summer transfer window, according to Alan Hutton.
The 20-year-old midfielder has been used sparingly at Villa Park this season having enjoyed a reasonable loan spell at QPR last year, making seven appearances in the Premier League and even starting Villa’s defeat to Manchester City.
While Iroegbunam’s minutes have been limited, he still has managed to catch the eye of some clubs, with Ajax reportedly preparing a summer swoop to try and temp the West Brom academy product away from the Midlands [Football Insider, 26 March].
While Hutton doesn’t want to see Unai Emery sell another bright young prospect from the Villans’ academy, he admits that “money talks” and should the right fee arrive, Villa will have little choice but to sell.
“I think possibly they’ll look at it,” Hutton told Villa News.
“I think Ajax, I watched them for a couple of games and that fits their bill. Young, room to move and improve, the potential is there. That’s what they look for within their squad, they’re such a young team but a massive team.
“They’re trying to rebuild so it should be a good move for him because he’s going to get the gametime. At Villa, yes he’s breaking through and there’s definitely potential for him to hit the next level, it’s just whether the manager sees that right now or is it in the future.
“Can he get to the level that Unai Emery is looking for? There’s a lot of question marks there to be answered before he probably decides whether he is to leave or not.
“Look, it comes down to money. Money talks, it is as simple as that. If they feel the money coming in for him is worth it, they’ll definitely have a look at it.
“I don’t like seeing them sell off too many youth academy products, I do like seeing them break into the first team.”
Will Tim Iroegbunam leave Aston Villa amid summer transfer interest from Ajax?
While Emery has been guilty of selling young players from the Villa academy in the past, current PSR rules in the Premier League have tended to force the Villans’ manager’s hand as he attempts to balance the books.
If Villa want to spend money in the summer, they will likely have to sell stars once again and Iroegbunam’s position as an academy product means that his sale would represent 100 per cent profit for Emery.
Whether or not he will be sold this summer remains to be seen, especially after Emery has made an active effort to include him in squads over the last few weeks, but if the money is right, it could be hard for Villa to turn it down.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery will “listen” to any approaches from Bayern Munich after Xabi Alonso’s surprise announcement
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