View: Cameron Archer can force way into Aston Villa first-team with pre-season performances
Aston Villa are in the process of a rebuild and they could have their future first-team striker ready to evolve already in Cameron Archer.
The team took part in their first pre-season friendly of the summer on Saturday afternoon and came out on top as 4-0 winners against Walsall, with the young England Under-21 striker getting on the scoresheet.
And as Steven Gerrard continues to shape his squad for the upcoming 2022/23 campaign in the Premier League, Archer continues to stake a claim for his spot in the side.
Ollie Watkins has established himself as the first-choice striker in the side, bagging 11 Premier League goals last season and using his speed and energy to ensure that he is the number nine.
Danny Ings seems to be the back up, with the £30m England striker also in the squad but he struggled to adapt at Villa Park and managed just seven goals in 31 appearances for the club in his maiden season.
Archer on the other hand has continued to develop and flourish. He scored four times in two League Cup appearances for the first-team, before being loaned out to Preston in the Championship and scoring seven times in 20 games.
He’s got four goals in four appearances for the England Under 21’s and has linked well with the first-team aces at the club to get on the scoresheet in a 45 minute cameo during pre-season.
If he continues to find the net and perform to the level that he is showing, then there is no reason why Gerrard and the Villa coaching staff shouldn’t factor him into their plans for the coming season.
There is reportedly interest in Ings, and as he turns 30 later this month, the club do need to start thinking about his long-term future at the club too despite only signing him one year ago.
It would be criminal for Aston Villa not to utilise the brilliant young talent they have available to them when they’re in the process of rebuilding and re-shaping the squad, especially after how well Jacob Ramsey did last season when given a chance.
Should Archer not get a chance, then he should ask to leave on loan as the more he plays the better he gets. Another Championship loan would be perfect, where he can spend the season adapting to men’s football and finding the back of the net.
But in an ideal world, he will be given an opportunity this year with the Villa first-team and fans will have a new homegrown hero to idolise week in and week out.
In other Aston Villa news, Jacob Ramsey could be an England wildcard for the 2022 Qatar World Cup