Cameron Archer Middlesbrough transfer hangs in balance as £20million Aston Villa news emerges
Cameron Archer has quickly become one of the most sought-after young forwards in the English Football League, and Middlesbrough have now been given a price tag by Aston Villa.
The Villa academy graduate, 21, has been in lightning form since sealing his January loan move to Middlesbrough, scoring ten goals and providing six assists from just 18 Championship outings.
The Sun has now reported (30 April) that Michael Carrick’s side want to buy Archer, but Aston Villa have put a “stunning” £20million plus price tag on his head.
The England Under-21 international will be Carrick’s priority transfer if the club manage to seal promotion from the Championship this season, with a battle in the playoffs imminent.
Boro have secured 4th position in the Championship with one game of the regular season remaining, and at the moment would face Coventry in the playoff semi-finals, but with this still dependant upon this weekend’s results.
The problem for Aston Villa is the regular game time that Archer will be expecting next season after his red-hot form and whether Unai Emery can meet his demands.
With Ollie Watkins in the form of his life right now and Jhon Duran snapped up for £18million in the January transfer window, there is still a realistic world in which the loanee finds himself third in the pecking order next season.
However, a permanent move to Middlesbrough will depend on two factors: Whether the Championship club can gain promotion to the Premier League and whether Aston Villa will secure European football.
If Emery’s side manages to qualify for the Europa League, Archer will almost certainly be needed to help bulk up Villa’s squad for the challenge of fighting on two fronts.
Thursday matches followed by weekend Premier League encounters have often derailed teams, with Sean Dyche’s Burnley and David Moyes’ West Ham just a couple of teams who didn’t have the depth to deal with the crammed calendar.
Although Villa Park is expected to be a hive of activity this summer, and several players set to be brought into the club, Archer’s quality is hard to ignore.
The £20million price tag is a fair estimation of his undoubted goal-scoring talent, but whether Middlesbrough or Aston Villa will trigger any moves is yet to be decided.
In other Aston Villa news, the club could have banked an extra £60million if they had made one key move sooner.