Queens Park Rangers is proving to be an excellent choice of first senior loan destination for Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa.

The Villans' faith and hopes for the 19-year-old were clear to see when he was tied down to a contract running until the summer of 2027.

The cultured midfielder is set to return to Villa Park in the summer with four years remaining on his contract and a full season of regular Championship action under his belt.

Having been available for 23 second tier matches since arriving at Loftus Road at the back end of the summer window, Iroegbunam has started 18, been substituted on in four, and missed out on the squad altogether once.

The former West Bromwich Albion youth player has picked up six yellow cards in that time, stepping into a variety of midfield roles, and appears to be just as in favour under Neil Critchley as he was when Mick Beale was at the helm.

Beale had worked with Iroegbunam previously at Villa, putting QPR in a strong position to land the midfielder, so a drop-off in game-time may have been on the cards when he left to join Rangers, but the 19-year-old has impressed the new manager despite results not being as good.

After making eight league starts in a row, Iroegbunam was dropped for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town, but from Villa's perspective that may not be seen as a negative, with them having the chance to learn more about the teenager's personality in monitoring how he responds to slipping out of the starting XI.

Iroegbunam is yet to score his first senior goal, and that will be something that Villa and the player are both hoping will materialise between now and the end of the season, with the 19-year-old failing to find the net from 27 shots and 2.17 expected goals in the league, as per Wyscout.

The fact that he is getting into positions to have efforts at goal is the main positive from that underperformance, but it will probably be weighing on his mind having taken that high number of shots on.

The mood of the camp will likely be fairly low at Loftus Road right now, considering how much the R's have fallen away from the top six picture since the World Cup break, but taking the rough with the smooth should be a greater test of character for Iroegbunam to have, before aiming to establish himself at top-flight level in years to come.