Ty Bracey exclusive: Aston Villa need to give Cameron Archer the chance to prove himself
We’re delighted to welcome Villa View host Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa have to give Cameron Archer the minutes to prove that he can be a Premier League goalscorer, according to Ty Bracey.
The 20-year-old signed a new five-year Villans contract on 5 August and looked to be set to make the step up to the first-team squad behind Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings for the new season, but amid a faltering start to the campaign manager Steven Gerrard is now prepared to loan him out again if he can sign a striker before deadline day [The Athletic].
With the youngster so far only afforded a tiny handful of minutes in three substitute appearance across all competitions, Bracey believes that the fact Villa have been chasing games so often has hampered his chances but that he needs to be given more time to show he can be the answer.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News he said: “I think that all depends on how Gerrard’s looking at the situation. It depends if he’s bringing in someone to be that third rotational striker alongside Watkins and Ings, or is it a case of he’s not happy with what he’s seeing?
“It seems at the minute, apart from the Everton game where it got a bit squeaky at the end, the start of the season has been very much that we are chasing games. We’re behind and we need to get back in the game.
“So I think it’s important that we have those impact subs. So whether that be Cameron Archer or be someone else coming in to compete with Watkins and Ings, I’m not opposed to the idea [of it being Archer].
“But if they think that we’re going to be chasing games throughout a lot of the season then maybe the best thing for Cameron Archer will be for him to go and find that loan deal to get those first team minutes.
“Either way we’ve got to start finding the net with whatever attacking options that we’ve got.
“We know [Archer] is a proven goal scorer. The only thing he’s got left to do is prove it in the Premier League. The only way he can do that is by getting minutes.
“Three games in it’s not looking like he’s going to get those 20-30 minute spells. It isn’t that I don’t think he’s ready. I don’t think that at all. I just don’t think that he’s being given the chance to do that.
“Maybe they want a proven reinforcement to bring on off the bench, but I do think he should be given the chance to have those 20-30 minutes. We know he can do it.
“He did it at Preston last year. He’s done it in the cup for us as well. We know he’s capable. So I feel he should be given the chance.”
Archer is stuck in a catch-22 situation at the moment of not having the top flight experience for the manager to trust him in important situations, thus preventing him from gaining that experience.
It is a situation that plenty of young people will recognise as they try to get jobs in competitive fields, and in this case it is debatable that he would really benefit for getting on the field right now.
The performances have been so flat that anyone in attack is going to struggle, but it feels like a team issue rather than one that jettisoning the up-and-coming goalscorer is the answer to.
In other Aston Villa news, Paul Merson says the pressure is on Gerrard and upcoming games are like cup finals.