Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer is reportedly closing in on an £18.5m move to Sheffield United, as he’s set to undergo a medical on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old has impressed at every level he’s performed at in his young career thus far, whether that was with us at youth level, during loan stints with Preston North End and Middlesbrough over the past two seasons, or for England U21s.
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In turn, he has long been considered one of our top prospects moving forward, but it appears as though his short-term future at least will lie elsewhere as he closes in on a departure.
According to David Ornstein, Archer is set to undergo a medical on Wednesday ahead of a move to Sheffield Utd, with the two clubs said to be close to agreeing on an £18.5m deal.
Importantly, he adds that a buy-back clause will be inserted into any agreement, and so that gives us an option to bring the talented forward back at some stage if he impresses for the Blades.
It’s a similar scenario to that of Aaron Ramsey who completed his move to Burnley on Tuesday in a deal said to be worth around £14m, and so while Villa have banked important fees for the pair, the buy-back option is crucial and leaves the door open to potentially coming back in the future if they do well this season.
On one hand, it is disappointing as ultimately we’d like to see our youth products make the step up at senior level and play a key role under Unai Emery, especially those who have shown so much promise coming through the ranks like Archer and Ramsey.
However, it doesn’t always work out the ideal way, and these are significant fees for Villa as we consider FFP, as they represent profit on the books and could potentially give us the financial flexibility before the transfer deadline to make more signings.
It’s a fundamental aspect of our dealings and President of Football Operations, Monchi, will no doubt be considering all angles as he has previously stressed the need to adopt a pragmatic approach. Nevertheless, if Emery is happy to let our young players go and has targets in mind that will strengthen us significantly now and moving forward, it’s hoped we’ll be in a great position by the time the window closes.
