When The Athletic asked two separate questions, both related to other Aston Villa midfielders, Unai Emery mentioned Tim Iroegbunam.

It was telling that during successive weeks in January, any query about Leander Dendoncker and/or Boubacar Kamara invariably brought a reference to Iroegbunam in the Villa head coach’s response.

“Dendoncker and Tim have the same characteristics of Kamara,” Emery said. “For different circumstances, they are playing less than I wanted, because Tim was injured during pre-season. He came back in October. I am working with Tim and I believe in him and I want to progress with him in every practice. We have to support him to play with the same structure we have when Kamara is not available. ”

Ominously, as it transpired, Kamara was not available. Neither now is John McGinn (suspension) or Dendoncker, who was sent on loan to Napoli in the winter transfer window. That decision was financially influenced — the Belgian is a steep earner — but also due to the high regard in which Emery holds Iroegbunam. Yet the 20-year-old had at that time only started one match for the club, under Emery’s predecessor Steven Gerrard against Norwich City in April 2022.

Villa’s midfield options are light and even before injuries and suspensions, Emery spoke differently about Iroegbunam. The coach openly accepted he chose him at the expense of Dendoncker, a 32-cap Belgium international and eight years his senior, firmly believing he could be sculpted into the archetypal midfielder his system requires.

“I decided to let Dendoncker leave and to keep Tim,” Emery said in late January. “I am going to work on giving him chances to progress in how we are trying to build.”

Emery then repeated his backing in the injury-stricken aftermath of Kamara being lost for the rest of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament. Incrementally, every time debate around Villa’s midfield was broached, Emery appeared more expressive in his admiration for the England youth international.

“When I watched him on loan (at Queens Park Rangers in the Championship last season) and now training every day, I believe in his potential,” he said. “I kept him because I thought he would take more minutes than Dendoncker. We had to be strong in the decision.”

Emery’s prediction has become a prophecy, with Villa stripped to the bare bones. Following his first start away to Ajax on Thursday, where Iroegbunam performed respectably despite struggling with the speed of the game in possession, Emery explained he is the one midfielder available to him who has anchoring qualities.

This school of thought was illuminated after McGinn’s sending-off against Tottenham Hotspur three days later. Villa will now be without their captain for away games against West Ham United and Manchester City — either side of Wolverhampton Wanderers at home. At a critical juncture in Villa’s season, potentially determining their top-four fate, the onus on Iroegbunam is significant.

“We have Tim, (Youri) Tielemans and Douglas Luiz — the last two are similar players but we need one stopper, like Tim,” said Emery.

Emery’s “stopper” description is intriguing, given his box-to-box role with QPR last season. As the example below demonstrates, he is a powerful runner, racing beyond opposing midfielders.

This goal Iroegbunam scored against Watford last March is a case in point.

After initially playing forward, he continues his run…

…then seizes on a loose ball before driving into the penalty area and finishing.

He stands 6ft (183cm) tall, with those close to him believing he is still yet to fill into his stature. Emery intends to shape the midfielder into a deep-lying No 6, fine-tuning his athleticism to cover the width of the pitch to guard against transitions.

Increasingly, Emery is schooling Iroegbunam to receive passes from his central defenders and under different angles of pressure. This aspect was in the spotlight during that goalless draw in Amsterdam, though in Emery’s view, Iroegbunam has the attributes to be effective, particularly with more game time.

Villa’s defensive setup is often underpinned by Emery’s midfield winning their duels, with counter-pressing and rest defence as core principles. At QPR, Iroegbunam proved adept in anticipation-based defending, confident in stepping in front of opposing midfielders and recovering the ball quickly.

Here, QPR cede possession with their Villa loanee the closest player to the ball.

Anticipating the direction the opponent would turn, Iroegbunam manages to step in front, nicking the ball away.

This manufactures an opportunity in transition due to Iroegbunam’s sharp counter-pressing. Note his immediate thought after regaining possession is to run forward rather than hold his position.

Lately, a quirk of Emery’s press conferences is the regularity with which he mentions Iroegbunam, despite the player not yet starting a Premier League game for him. Before the trip to Fulham on February 17, Emery became animated when asked how he planned to compensate for the freshly injured Kamara’s absence.

His voice inflected, speaking more intensely the longer his response went on.

“It’s his moment,” Emery said of Iroegbunam, snapping his fingers and moving closer to the microphone. “He has to be demanding and he has to do it… quick. He has to be ready and say, ‘It’s my time, now I am here!’. I don’t know if he is going to, but I am positive with him. I believe in him. We have to always give him chances to feel comfortable.”

The moment Emery envisioned will now arrive.

For Iroegbunam, that loan to QPR served as a transformative period in his career — 33 first-team appearances in a year where he moved from matches at under-21 level to the blood and guts of the Championship, helping the west London club in a successful relegation battle.

His maturity developed, as did his self-belief, irrespective of the back injury he suffered at the start of this pre-season. He has subsequently felt ready to make the step up to Premier League football.

Emery’s routine words of support have long promised Iroegbunam an opportunity.

With squad depth now stretched, he will turn to an academy graduate born and raised a little over four miles from Villa Park to navigate a definitive point in their season.

(Top photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)