Pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has stated that Aston Villa should loan out forward Cameron Archer in January.
The ex-Villa striker spoke to Football Insider about Archer’s lack of game time and what he needs to do to ensure the best future for him.
Archer has made six appearances in the Premier League for Aston Villa this term. However, he’s only totalled around nine minutes per game, showing that whilst he’s had some league appearances to his name, he’s yet to be given a real chance this season.
Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings are ahead of Archer in the pecking order. In fact, it was Ings who scored twice in their 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Watkins missed the clash with the Seagulls due to sickness, though he did net in the previous match against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
Agbonlahor believes that because Archer is low down the pecking order, he should look for a loan move, ideally to the Championship.
He stated: “With Archer, I like him, but for your own career, sometimes you have to be selfish.
“He needs to play football. Go to the Championship and find a club that suits you and go bang in goals.
“I can’t see him getting into the team in front of Watkins and Ings, to be honest.
“At that age, you want to be playing football. You don’t want to be hanging around and getting five minutes here and there, you want to be starting games.”
TIF Thoughts on Agbonlahor’s comments…
We believe that Archer, who has been hailed as ‘fantastic’, should look to find more minutes with a loan move in January. A Championship club would be the best destination for the forward.
Archer was on loan at Preston North End last season, where he scored seven times in 20 league appearances – not bad at all for a 20-year-old.
The Championship is a league that he has experience in and he can only get better. In the Under-21 European Championship qualifiers, he scored four in four games for England, so clearly he has the potential to be an exciting prospect.
With Watkins and Ings at the disposal of Unai Emery, it’s hard to see where Archer fits in. Additionally, with the January transfer window around the corner, Emery may use his impressive CV to bring in other attackers to the club.
So we think Archer should look to find a loan in January. Consistent game time could be just what he needs and an impressive loan spell could show the club he’s a player worth keeping in the long term.