Unai Emery was wrong to sell Cameron Archer amid Aston Villa over-reliance on Ollie Watkins this season
Unai Emery was wrong to sell Cameron Archer to Sheffield United due to the over-reliance on Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa this season.
The 21-year-old joined the Blades on a four-year contract for a deal that was reportedly worth up to £18million after coming through the ranks at Villa Park.
That has left just Watkins and Jhon Duran as the only senior forwards remaining at the club despite the Villans competing in the Europa Conference League this season.
Archer would have been expecting to be more involved at Villa this season after scoring 11 goals and laying on six assists in 23 appearances as he helped Middlesbrough reach the Championship playoffs during the last campaign.
But that didn’t prove to be the case for the England U-21 international as he was sold to Sheffield United, with a buy-back clause included in the deal.
That means there is a chance he could return to Birmingham if he performs well in the Premier League with the Blades, having notched two goals in nine appearances for a side that are struggling at the bottom of the table.
The forward’s latest strike saw him find the back of the net from long range in the Yorkshire side’s 2-1 victory against Wolves on Saturday (4 November).
Villa weren’t able to come away from Nottingham Forest with all three points on Sunday (5 November), though, as they lost 2-0 at the City Ground.
Watkins, who has been in scintillating form to help his side get off to a strong start this season, wasn’t quite at his best as he only recorded one shot in the game.
The England international has scored nine times and laid on five assists in 14 matches this season, as he has been involved in 34% of the goals the Villans have scored throughout the opening few months of the campaign.
The 27-year-old has been backed up this year by fellow forward Duran, who scored four goals in his 12 appearances before being sidelined through injury over the past few weeks.
The 19-year-old Colombian’s absence has meant that Emery hasn’t been able to hand Watkins much of a rest lately and that could take its toll as the season goes on.
It’s also taken away another attacking option for the Villa boss as he wasn’t able to throw on another forward as he looked to get his side back into the game against Forest.
While the sale of Archer did help the club on the financial fair play front and he can return to Villa Park if he does well at Bramall Lane, perhaps he would’ve been a valuable asset for the Spaniard in this campaign as he looks to help the Villans compete at the top end of the table.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has detailed what he has heard about Emery’s contract situation.