Dortmund target rarely-seen Villa midfielder as possible Jude Bellingham successor with Juventus also keen

Juventus and Borussia Dortmund are among a number of Europe’s top clubs tracking Aston Villa midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, TEAMtalk understands.

England Under-20 international Iroegbunam has been earning rave reviews during his temporary spell at QPR this season after joining on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day last summer.

Iroegbunam, 19, has been a standout performer for QPR, making 18 appearances in all competitions for the Championship club.

The all-action midfielder has been on the radar of a lot of Europe’s top sides for a while having impressed for England Under-19s in their successful 2022 UEFA European Under-19 finals last summer.

Juventus and Borussia Dortmund have been keeping tabs on Iroegbunam’s progress at QPR in his first campaign of regular senior football.

The Italian and German outfits have enjoyed success in the past raiding English clubs for some of the best young talents in the country and they are both monitoring Iroegbunam’s situation.

And, according to TEAMtalk sources, Dortmund are particularly keen to bring Iroegbunam to the Westfalenstadion. The Bundesliga side brought in Jude Bellingham from Birmingham back in summer 2020. And the teenage midfielder has become a resounding success for BVB.

Indeed, he is likely to depart this summer in a deal that could fetch as much as £120m. To that end, Jurgen Klopp has been told the signing of Bellingham is completely in his hands.

And while it would be unfair to expect Iroegbunam to be a ready-made replacement, Dortmund believe he has the potential to be their next big English import.

Steven Gerrard a big fan of Tim Iroegbunam

Iroegbunam was hailed as a star in the making by former Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard after he promoted him into the first-team  last season.

The teenager made his Premier League debut for Villa last February and was soon rewarded with a new contract. He went on to make four appearances in total, including three in the Premier League.

And while he was expected to make the next step up, Gerrard decided it would be in the player’s best interests if he made a loan move this season.

As such, QPR moved to secure his signing on deadline day and he has gone on to make 18 appearances in all competitions.

The player, though, has not yet been assessed by new Villa boss Unai Emery and he will want to oversee the player himself before coming to any verdict on his future.

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