Everton have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Aston Villa midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, who could be a replacement for exit-linked star Amadou Onana.
The Toffees are working on a tight budget with work still to be done to balance the books before submitting their accounts on June 30th.
As we have consistently reported, Everton will likely have to make at least one sale before that date to ensure they don’t breach the Premier League’s financial rules again.
Onana has made no secret that he wants to join a top club this summer and is treating his Euros campaign with Belgium as an ‘audition.’
Everton’s sporting director Kevin Thelwell has already admitted that the Toffees will likely have to sell players and their signings will be mostly loans and free transfers until money comes in.
However, it now seems that one sale must be close as Everton have ‘agreed’ their first signing of the summer – to the tune of £10m.
Everton to sign Aston Villa midfielder
According to transfer journalist Pete O’Rourke, Everton have ‘agreed a deal in the region of £10m’ to sign Aston Villa midfielder Iroegbunam.
As per O’Rourke’s report for Football Insider, the 20-year-old is set to join the Merseyside club on a permanent deal, adding to their midfield options.
Andre Gomes is set to leave Everton at the end of this month and if we assume Onana is sold, that will leave Sean Dyche with Iroegbunam, James Garner, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure as his options in the middle of the park.
The deal for Iroegbunam is beneficial for Villa as they are also looking to raise funds amid their own PSR concerns.
The 6ft centre-mid is highly rated at the Midlands club but has struggled for opportunities under Unai Emery, so a move elsewhere is probably best for his career.
Iroegbunam made 15 appearances in 2023/24 for Villa but managed just 288 minutes of game time.
The highlight of his campaign was featuring home and away against Ajax in the Europa League – a game Villa won 4-0 on aggregate.
Dyche will hope that Iroegbunam can reach his potential at Goodison Park and prove to be a shrewd signing in the coming years.
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