Cameron Archer made his presence in the Championship on loan at Preston North End from Aston Villa in the second half of last season.

The 20-year-old has three years left on his deal at Villa Park and has gone away with the senior team on their pre-season tour.

As far as his availability for a loan move or permanent switch is concerned, it would appear that Steven Gerrard is still assessing his squad ahead of 2022/23, and with the Premier League kicking off a week after the EFL, things may become clearer in the coming weeks.

The Athletic confirmed that Archer is away with the first team squad and could remain at the club as part of Gerrard's thinking heading into the new season.

The link between Michael Beale and Gerrard, and the trust that the former England captain clearly has in the new Queens Park Rangers manager, should make Loftus Road a more attractive destination for players gaining experience away from Villa.

Therefore, it is likely that QPR are towards the top end of the list of second tier clubs who would be in for the 20-year-old, should he become available for loan, even though they are not amongst the group of clubs who are most-fancied to compete for promotion.

Rangers, who Gerrard may also trust to develop players, can offer European football to Archer, which would certainly be an exciting prospect for the 20-year-old, posing a dilemma for the club to mull over, should they decide that Archer is not required in the first team picture.

The livewire forward has scored in both of his appearances, two, in pre-season so far, against Walsall and Brisbane Roar, where Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins have found the net once each.

As it stands, it feels more likely that Archer will hang around the first team picture, potentially for the first half of the season again, before heading out on loan in the second half of the season, if Premier League minutes are not forthcoming.