Aston Villa have confirmed that Cameron Archer has left the club to join Southampton on a permanent basis, in a deal said to be worth around £15m.
The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Villa and having impressed at youth level, he went on to enjoy positive loan stints at Preston North End and Middlesbrough to build hope that he could become a key player for us.
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Despite being involved in our last two pre-seasons, Archer continued to struggle to make a lasting impact to cement his place in Unai Emery’s first-team squad, and was subsequently sold to Sheffield Utd last summer.
However, after a clause was triggered to re-sign him this summer, this could now spell the end of the talented young striker’s time with us for good.
As per the club’s official statement, Archer has joined Southampton on a permanent deal, while the Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell reports that the transfer is worth £15m plus add-ons, with no suggestion this time round that there is a buy-back clause included in the agreement.
“The decision is that he’s close to leaving because we think he needs to develop and we can’t assure him he can play minutes with us,” Emery told the media in his press conference on Friday, just prior to confirmation of the deal.
Ultimately, it’s a move that makes sense for all concerned. Southampton get an important attacking reinforcement with a bright future ahead of him, Archer gets a move to a club where he is more likely to play a prominent role, while Villa cash in on another Academy product, who would have struggled to move up the pecking order.
With Ollie Watkins set in stone as our first-choice frontman, and with Jhon Duran seemingly now set to stay with us, it would have severely limited Archer’s involvement, and naturally that fee helps balance our books and fund a potential move for another reinforcement this summer if Emery feels we need to strengthen still.
That said, it is a shame to see another top prospect leave the club after coming through our system, with the likes of Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam the latest move on earlier this summer.
Nevertheless, it’s part of the transfer strategy that we have adopted with the PSR rules as they are, and although we seemingly cleared those concerns already, it’s an astute move to continue to give ourselves flexibility both financially and in terms of having space in the squad to perhaps bring in another priority target if a deal becomes feasible.