Fresh from his U21s European Championship triumph, Aston Villa youngster Cameron Archer will now embark on an important summer that could map his career path.
The 21-year-old netted twice in the tournament as he played his role in helping England go all the way, showing great composure and quality in the final third to make an important impact.
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It was ideal from a Villa perspective to see him produce, albeit in limited playing time, as he continues to develop and improve his game while gaining valuable experience at both club and international level.
While he’ll likely get an extended break now before being required to report for pre-season training, Archer will undoubtedly be itching to get back to Bodymoor Heath to begin preparations for the new campaign, as he looks to stake his claim and convince Unai Emery to keep him in his squad this year.
From scoring goals at U21s level for us to bagging four in 13 at senior level, Archer has subsequently gone through the necessary steps of his development to prepare himself for his big chance in a Villa shirt.
Having previously impressed at Preston North End on loan, he had a temporary stint at Middlesbrough last season. Although he couldn’t help them seal promotion from the Championship, he impressed once again with 11 goals and six assists in 23 outings.
Archer has ultimately ticked that box now that he can produce at Championship level, and so another loan in the second-tier of English football doesn’t particularly make sense as it would feel like he’s becoming stuck there rather than taking that next natural step in his progression.
So, what options do Villa have? Emery could choose to loan him out to a ‘lower-level’ Premier League side to see if Archer can deliver in the top flight, but again, that doesn’t make much sense given it strengthens a more direct competitor.
Instead, it’s now arguably the most sensible decision to keep him at Villa this season, work closely with him to improve and develop him and utilise his qualities as an understudy to Ollie Watkins in a year where we need depth to compete on multiple fronts.
Emery and his coaching staff displayed their class last season through the improvement that so many individuals showed under their guidance, Watkins being one of them, and so there is little doubt that they would be a hugely positive influence on Archer in moulding him into a top-level striker.
Archer has ticked a lot of the right boxes in his young career thus far, and if he can impress in pre-season and get goals, it will only strengthen the argument in favour of Emery keeping him at the club, while the Villa boss would of course have kept a close eye on him since he was appointed.
That said, there is an important balance that we need to find this summer too. With the addition of Youri Tielemans and the expected arrival of Pau Torres, it’s clear that Emery wants to bring in reinforcements that significantly improve us and help us become increasingly competitive, both now and in the long term.
With a lack of competition up front beyond Watkins, Archer and Jhon Duran, he could decide to bring in a new face to bolster his attacking options, and so there will be anxious wait to determine if that ultimately pushes Archer out and into another loan stint elsewhere, or if we feel there are still enough opportunities for him to flourish this season.
The talent is evidently there, he’s gone through his ‘apprenticeship’ stage, now it’s time to find out if he can deliver where it really matters. Emery will hopefully be relishing the chance to take his game to the next level and turning him into a potent option in the upcoming campaign.