After a disastrous Sunday which saw Aston Villa suffer a heavy 4-0 defeat to Tottenham, Unai Emery’s problems could be set to continue in the coming weeks.
With Boubacar Kamara already sidelined by injury and now captain John McGinn facing a three-match Premier League suspension after his dismissal this past weekend, it leaves us light in terms of options to play in the heart of our midfield.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Villa suffer heavy defeat to Tottenham
Douglas Luiz will of course continue to play a fundamental role, but it will likely now be down to Tim Iroegbunam to step up, anchor our midfield alongside him and provide us with a crucial defensive presence in front of a backline that has struggled to keep things tight in recent weeks.
The 20-year-old emerged as one of our top talents at youth level, regularly putting in impressive displays which in turn led to his loan spell at QPR last season to gain all-important experience and regular playing time at senior level.
Having excelled there and returned to training with the Villa first-team squad since last summer, he’s made seven appearances so far this season, with his first start coming against Ajax in the Europa Conference League last week.
The expectation at that point had been that he would be a key option to rotate in and rest McGinn or Luiz when needed, and so that valuable time on the pitch to adapt and settle in the side was vital. However, given our current predicament, the talented youngster will now need to fill a major void and play a pivotal part in our season as we look to ensure it doesn’t get completely derailed.
Given his physical attributes and technical ability, he has the potential to be a top player. Further, having been in the squad for some time now to study, learn and adapt to Emery’s tactical demands and style, it has been a gradual process to get him ready to play in the starting line-up.
That should be a significant benefit to him in the next few games as he isn’t entirely being thrown in at the deep end. However, it’s such an important role in the team to not only give us a fundamental balance in both phases of the game, but to also allow the likes of Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey to push on and be influential in the final third.
Having allowed Leander Dendoncker to leave in January, that was an important indication from Emery that he felt Iroegbunam was ready to step up and provide depth if needed. That time has now come, and it’s hoped that the Villa youngster is ready to deliver and be a vital presence in the side for the next handful of games at least.