Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has praised the start Cameron Archer has made since joining on loan from Aston Villa. The striker secured a half-season transfer to the Riverside.
Aston Villa let Archer head for Teesside at the start of January having struggled for minutes in Birmingham. He made just seven appearances across all competitions for the claret-and-blue club. Those games further only came to 51 minutes with just seven under Unai Emery.
The Spaniard seldom showed his faith in the striker upon succeeding Steven Gerrard at the helm. So, Aston Villa accepted Middlesbrough’s offer for the loan transfer of Archer for the rest of the term. He has already featured three times for 64 minutes in Carrick’s fold so far.
Carrick has kept Archer to cameos in two Championship matches and Boro’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. But the 21-year-old is now pushing to make his first start when Watford visit the Riverside. The two play-off contending sides clash on Saturday afternoon.
Watford currently sit third in the second-tier standings with 44 points from 28 games after enduring relegation last term. While Middlesbrough rank in sixth place with 42 points over their 28 fixtures. They have taken 25 points from 12 games since hiring Carrick in October.
Aston Villa’s Archer is impressing Carrick during his loan transfer to Middlesbrough
Archer is yet to open his account for Middlesbrough and also failed to score for Aston Villa before his loan transfer. But the England U21 international proved what he can offer in the Championship last term. He scored seven goals in 20 outings on loan to Preston North End.
The striker also impressed Carrick during his cameo against Brighton in the FA Cup, despite coming on whilst 3-1 behind. Boro also ended their 5-1 defeat to the Seagulls a man down.
But Archer showed Carrick what the Aston Villa ace can give Middlesbrough while on loan. The Boro boss has now given a positive early verdict on the striker, via The Northern Echo.
“He’s been terrific,” Carrick said. “He’s trained really well since he came in and the longer he’s in here, getting comfortable, getting sharper and getting to know the boys and the boys getting to know him – what he likes, what he’s good at – the more he will benefit.
“That’s a big part of the game. There are the team’s tactics to learn. But it’s also, when you’re in the game, little partnerships, units and combinations that you have with each other. That can take time to work out and you can see that developing.
“I’ve been really pleased with him and he will play a lot of football for us in the coming months, which is the reason he came and the reason we got him here.”
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