Aston Villa face a crucial decision this summer as the club will need to make a call on Cameron Archer’s future when his loan stint at Middlesbrough ends.
The 21-year-old is again showcasing his quality in front of goal in his latest loan spell away from the club, having bagged six goals along with three assists in 13 appearances for the Championship outfit, as he attempts to help fire them towards promotion.
READ MORE: Villa loanee making positive impact in stint away ahead of summer decision
Just as he did at Preston last season and at youth level in a Villa shirt, Archer continues to find the back of the net with great regularity, and there is absolutely no denying the potential that he possesses, which could make him an important option in Unai Emery’s squad.
His loan stint will expire at the end of the season, and while no option was included in the agreement with Middlesbrough, which could have given them the possible chance of signing Archer outright, a fundamental decision on his future will still need to be made as he’ll want assurances of having a pathway at Villa to become a regular first-team player.
Ollie Watkins currently stands in his way of that materialising, but after the decision to sell Danny Ings in January and with the addition of another young forward in Jhon Duran who continues to adapt and adjust to life in England, Villa don’t have too many options available up front as it stands.
Emery has been clear that he’s happy with the squad depth at his disposal for the rest of this season given our only interest lies in the Premier League. However, the Villa boss will no doubt want more quality and competition right across the squad from next season onwards, as we look to compete in the cup competitions and hopefully even in Europe.
With more games, come more opportunities. While it was absolutely the right decision to loan Archer out for the rest of this season given his lack of football, which wasn’t helping him develop and improve, he could have a more prominent role next season in either supporting, or rotating with, Watkins.
Much depends on whether or not Emery is indeed keen to bring him through or if he perhaps has his own plans to bolster his attacking options in the market this summer.
Archer is ticking all the right boxes to make a case that he’s ready for a bigger chance at Villa moving forward, but if Emery doesn’t see space for him and given the financial benefits of selling a homegrown player for a big fee, it could be an option that is explored further this summer.
It’s arguably fair to say that almost every Villa fan wants to see him get a chance to establish himself with us. He’s shown so much promise and potential to this point, and so it would be such a shame if we instead green lit an exit this summer and cashed in, while then looking elsewhere to strengthen Emery’s options up top.
Archer will have ambitions of playing a prominent role at the top level as he continues to shine on Teeside, while Villa need a competitive squad next year and quality on the bench to make the difference. If the two sides can find an agreement on those key points in terms of how involved Archer will be, then we’ll hopefully see him flourishing and playing a key role for us moving forward as opposed to sealing a permanent move elsewhere.
What do you think will happen with Cameron Archer? Will he get a chance under Emery next season or is there a concern over a permanent exit?