QPR eye loan deals for Aston Villa duo Cameron Archer and Tim Iroegbunam – report
By Jonty Banks
QPR have registered interest in Aston Villa pair Cameron Archer and Tim Iroegbunam, according to West London Sport.
Michael Beale has endured a tough start to his stint in West London since leaving his role as assistant manager at Aston Villa and is now looking to raid his former club of two of their most promising youngsters.
However, West London Sport have reported that QPR are one of several Championship sides keen to sign the highly prolific Archer, who scored seven goals in 20 games for Preston North End last season and is seen as one of the brightest talents to come out of the Villa academy.
Beale knows both players from his time in the west midlands and a deal for Archer’s team-mate Iroegbunam is also being discussed.
Archer departure a risk
Having worked with Michael Beale for a number of years at both Rangers and Villa, QPR seems the perfect place to nurture some of Gerrard’s fringe players who will find game time hard to come by.
The move for Iroegbunam makes complete sense, as the 19-year-old is unlikely to break into the starting XI due to a plethora of options which Gerrard has at his disposal in the middle of the park.
But the release of Archer could leave Villa extremely short-changed in attack, with Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings the only two other centre forwards in Villa’s squad.
If Ings – an injury prone forward – or Watkins were to be sidelined, Gerrard would have little choice or tactical flexibility coming off the bench and would have to resort to the likes of Emi Buendia or Phillip Coutinho being deployed as a false 9.
If Archer does go, those at the club must be confident they can bring a fresh face in before the end of the transfer window.
In other Aston Villa news, PSV are looking at Anwar El Ghazi.