Aston Villa have announced the signing of Lewis Dobbin from Everton for an undisclosed fee. The Stoke-born 21-year-old forward graduated from the Everton academy in September 2021 and went on to make 20 senior appearances for the Toffees before spending the 2022-23 season on loan at Derby. “I felt like this was the right time to start a new adventure,” Dobbin said in a statement posted on social media, thanking Everton fans for their “constant support”. In a separate post confirming his arrival at Villa, he said: “Happy to be joining such a huge club with big ambitions. An incredible opportunity, I can’t wait to get started.” Dobbin scored one goal for Everton last term in their 2-0 win against Chelsea in December 2023. He becomes Villa’s first signing of the summer and the transfer comes after midfielder Tim Iroegbunam moved the opposite way to join Everton on a three-year deal on Saturday. The 20-year-old central midfielder, who has cost a reported £9m, was an Under-19s European Championship winner with England in 2022 and has also represented the under-20s. “I’m very pleased. Everton is an amazing club, a big club and I’m just really happy to join and I can’t wait to get started,” Iroegbunam told the club website. “It was a move that I didn’t want to pass by. I wanted to take the opportunity. It was very important for me to get the move sorted quickly. It means I can get settled in and come in from day one and take my chance to impress from the start of pre-season.”