Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has revealed he’s pleased to see Cameron Archer’s form at Middlesbrough following the decision to loan him out last month.
Although there was initial excitement over the decision to keep him in the squad last summer, the 21-year-old was severely limited under Steven Gerrard and struggled for any meaningful playing time.
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While that trend continued following Unai Emery’s arrival, the right decision was taken by the club in January as we approved of another loan exit to allow Archer to play regularly, gain experience and ultimately develop and improve his game.
Just as he did at Preston North End last season, the talented youngster is showing his quality on Teesside already with three goals and two assists in his last four Championship appearances, and so it appears as though the right landing spot for him was picked and he is showcasing his ability again.
From a Villa perspective, it’s hoped that this spell ultimately now leads to Archer getting a genuine chance at senior level with us next season, but time will tell how things play out between now and the summer.
What is clear for now though is that Emery and his staff are certainly keeping a close eye on Archer’s progress, and the Villa boss is pleased with both the decision to loan him out – one he says was a joint call between him and Archer – and how well he has adapted at Middlesbrough to boost their promotion push.
“His moment is to play minutes, to score goals and to try and improve,” he is quoted as saying by BirminghamLive. “I spoke with him about it and he had the same idea.
“Here, of course he can play because he played when he was here. For him, it’s very important to take confidence, to play and to be competitive and, of course, to score goals like he is doing and we are very happy for him and, of course, it’s a good decision we made and shared with him.”
Although we signed Jhon Duran last month to provide support for Ollie Watkins, we did also green light an exit for Danny Ings. In turn, it’s hoped that decision was made with Archer in mind and creating a path for him to have a bigger role moving forward, but it remains to be seen if Emery looks to bring in his own signings this summer.
Given how Archer continues to score goals though when given a chance, he is surely playing his way into a key role under Emery, and he’ll hopefully maintain his current form in the coming months to make it impossible to think otherwise.