Cameron Archer is a very hot property this summer after impressing at Preston North End, on loan from Aston Villa, in the second half of last season. 

Villa have an extremely exciting crop of youngsters coming through at the moment, and EFL clubs are set to benefit from aiding their step up to senior football via the loan system in the coming years.

Archer has three years remaining on his contract at Villa Park and will not be available for transfer this summer, it appears that a decision will not be made by his parent club until late on in the window, but that is not stopping potential suitors jostling for position.

The 20-year-old scored seven goals in 18 Championship starts last term and it will be interesting to see where he will be plying his trade in 2022/23.

TalkSPORT's Alex Crook named Middlesbrough and Watford, on Twitter, as two clubs interested in bolstering their attacking contingent with Archer this summer.

He wrote: "There is a lot of interest in #AVFC striker Cameron Archer including #RangersFC #Boro and #WatfordFC."

Both clubs are preparing to rebuild their attack this summer, and it will be interesting to see if either win the race for Archer's signature.

Both managers, Chris Wilder and Rob Edwards, deployed 3-5-2 formations last season that could see Archer thrive alongside a suitable strike-partner.

The Verdict

 

 

The opportunity to play European football at Rangers, and working in an environment that Steven Gerrard trusts could be the option that is selected come the end of the window, but given the quality Archer showed at Deepdale, the vast majority of Championship clubs should be open to the possibility of taking Archer on loan.

It will be interesting to see if Villa begin to integrate some of their younger players into the first team a little bit more this upcoming season, given the success of Jacob Ramsey in the last year or so.

There is a chance that Archer begins competing more seriously with Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings if he has a successful pre-season with the first team.