Preston North End enjoyed a fruitful half a campaign from Cameron Archer last season and they'll no doubt be desperate to have him back again for a full season next year.

The striker scored seven goals and provided one assist in a loan spell at Deepdale during the second half of the campaign.

Club advisor Peter Ridsdale himself has confirmed via the From The Finney podcast that he is prepared to match other sides offers for the player in a bid to get him back to Deepdale and the Championship.

However, they could face a long wait to see where his future lies, with Aston Villa weighing up whether to keep him or not. The Premier League outfit might fancy giving the youngster a go in the top flight for them next season - and it looks as though they will spend the majority of the offseason mulling this over.

As reported by Birmingham Live, the Villains are prepared to wait right up until the transfer deadline to decide whether or not to progress with Archer this year or whether to ship him out on another short-term deal or not.

That means that PNE could be playing the waiting game in terms of adding to their forward line. Archer is their number one striking target - but in order to try and land him, it may mean them either signing other options before or losing out on extra striking options right up until August.

Preston though would likely be prepared to wait if it meant being able to add Archer to their ranks again - even if it is just on another loan deal to Deepdale rather than a permanent switch.

The Verdict

It is no surprise that Preston are all-in on Cameron Archer, considering just how well he fared for the side in the second half of last season.

He looked at home right away and after a winning goal against rivals Blackpool, he is already in their history books.

The striker is only young and has the potential to get even better and having flourished already with the Lilywhites, Villa might benefit from sending him to Deepdale again for a full season and allowing him to really thrive and