Aston Villa have confirmed that Cameron Archer has left the club on a permanent basis to join Sheffield United.
The 21-year-old has been regarded as one of the club’s top talents for some time now, having delivered at every level thus far, from our youth team to loan spells with Preston North End and Middlesbrough to England U21s.
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Having featured prominently over pre-season and with the expectation that he would play a key role behind Ollie Watkins this season in providing crucial depth and competition, it has been somewhat of a surprise in recent weeks to hear speculation of a potential exit.
As confirmed by Villa, Archer has now sealed a permanent move to Sheffield Utd, although the club didn’t provide any further details of the agreement with the Blades.
Nevertheless, as per David Ornstein earlier this week, it has been reported that the deal is worth £18.5m, while crucially, there is said to be a buy-back clause inserted into the agreement.
That ties in with Unai Emery’s recent comments on the matter, as the Villa boss has been adamant that although he understands that Archer needs to play regularly now at a high level, both he and the club still wanted an element of control over his future in terms of having the option to bring him back if he impresses at Bramall Lane.
With similar reports over Aaron Ramsey’s move to Burnley, it does appear that Villa are adopting a sensible strategy when it comes to allowing our top youth products to move on, as although it’s understandable why we’re green lighting exits given the financial benefits and how it works for all concerned, it’s important to keep that door open too.
That said, it is still disappointing to see Archer leave, such was the optimism and expectation that he could make an important breakthrough for us this season.
However, we hope it works out for him this year now, and time will tell if we see him again in the future, while these exits should also now give Villa increased flexibility in the transfer market to bring in further reinforcements this summer.
— Cameron Archer (@Cameronarcher_) August 27, 2023
