Aston Villa youngster Cameron Archer is reportedly on the radar for five English clubs as the 20-year-old’s future remains undecided.
According to the Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United and Stoke City had scouts to watch Archer in Villa’s U-23 clash against Birmingham rivals West Brom, a fixture in which the striker scored in.
Despite interest from Championship clubs and not playing a single minute under new manager Steven Gerrard, the English coach is keen to keep Archer around following the loan departure of Keinan Davis.
The striker signed a new contract in December until 2025 as per BBC Sport. Yet despite this, the youngster is yet to play senior football for Gerrard despite shining for Villa earlier in the season under Dean Smith.
The attacker bagged a hat-trick in the League Cup against AFC Barrow as well as a brilliant header against Chelsea. With Archer also smashing in six goals in four EFL Trophy matches for the U-21s.
Indeed, Archer has proven this season to be a promising striker, with MK Dons coach Liam Manning labelling the attacker as ‘dangerous’ after the forward bagged a brace in a 4-2 win against the League One side.
Villa should be making arrangements to loan out Archer
With Villa seemingly keen to sign another striker this month as per the Athletic, keeping Archer around as a fourth-choice striker would be an unproductive move from the club given the talent the forward possesses.
The 20-year-old has stepped up to the occasion every time Archer has been given a chance in the senior team. And with Gerrard looking for another striker, the Villa boss owes it to the youngster to loan him out to play regular football, especially with English clubs eyeing him.
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