Aston Villa are suffering from some mild turbulence of late, winning just one of their previous six fixtures and crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of Chelsea.
This means Unai Emery has only one realistic hope for silverware this season – the Europa Conference League – but he will need his side to improve over the coming weeks.
There is no doubt the Spaniard has an excellent starting XI to call upon when everyone is fit, yet his squad depth is not quite at the required level and this will need to be addressed during the summer transfer window.
Villa currently relies on Ollie Watkins to score the majority of their goals, but if he suffers an injury, Emery could see his side struggle, especially considering backup striker Jhon Duran is now out injured for the next couple of months.
This means Emery has Morgan Rogers as his only other centre-forward, and could the manager be ruing a call he made last summer, where he sold one of the club’s most promising attacking options?
Aston Villa sold Cameron Archer too hastily
Cameron Archer began his career working his way through the Villa youth teams before making his debut during the 2019/20 season under Dean Smith.
He scored four goals in just two EFL Cup matches during the first half of the 2021/22 campaign, and it looked as though the Midlands side had unearthed a wonderful talent.
Steven Gerrard sent him on a loan spell to Preston North End (seven goals in 20 matches) before he made six Premier League appearances in 2022/23, yet Emery sent him to the Championship as another loan spell beckoned, although this time he staked a claim to be part of Villa’s plans going forward.
Across just 20 matches in the regular second tier season, Archer netted 11 goals and grabbed six assists and this ranked him second among the whole squad, while he also ranked second for shots on target per game (0.9), third for key passes per game (1.3) and for successful dribbles per game (1.1), excellent figures for a player who only joined the club in January.
Having shone for Boro and Villa clearly needing some solid backup for Watkins ahead of the current season, it looked as though Archer would finally become a key part of the first team squad, that is until Sheffield United swooped in.
The Blades made an offer of £18.5m which was accepted, and the youngster joined the club. Given that he had made just 14 appearances for the Villa Park outfit, the transfer fee was clearly too good to turn down.
With Duran now out injured, however, and Archer actually outscoring him, was selling the 5 foot 11 talent last summer a move that Emery might come to regret?
Jhon Duran’s season in numbers
The young Colombian was looking to kick ahead of his first full season in the Midlands, having joined last January from the MLS.
No goals in his first 12 matches was perhaps no surprise given how young and experienced he was, especially at Premier League level, but there was no doubting his vast talents, and he would surely only get better the more he played under Emery.
The only problem is, he had Watkins to displace from the starting XI and this was no easy task. Before he suffered his hamstring injury against Everton, Duran had scored only twice in the top flight from 14 matches (zero starts), while scoring twice in the Conference League, hardly numbers which were going to secure him a starting berth.
Among the squad, Duran currently ranks in a lowly 11th spot for shots on target per game (0.3), along with ranking 19th for successful dribbles per game (0.1) and 17th for key passes per game (0.1), clearly showing how little influence he has when given a chance.
The Colombian frontman looked as though he may have been close to departing Villa last month, as Chelsea were showing a keen interest in securing his services, but the injury put a halt to any transfer occurring.
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Might Emery have been better off keeping Archer at the club last year, especially as it looks as though he is enjoying life in Sheffield?
Cameron Archer is outperforming Jhon Duran
Prior to leaving Villa, Under 23 scout Antonio Mango lauded Archer by saying he was “undoubtedly the best finisher in this squad” when he was on duty with the England U21 squad and while he may have scored just four league goals for the Blades this term, it is still two more than Duran.
In the Premier League, Archer has also registered more shots per game (1.3 vs 0.9), big chances created (five vs zero), key passes per game (0.8 vs 0.1), successful dribbles per game (1.2 vs 0.1) and has won more total duels per game (2.9 vs 1.1), and these statistics clearly show who has enjoyed a more productive spell in the Premier League so far this term.
Of course, Duran hasn’t started a game yet, but the fact is, when he is given a chance in the team, the youngster has failed to shine.
Selling Archer for £18.5m may sound like a solid piece of transfer business on the surface, especially with the need to raise funds in order to balance the books and comply with Financial Fair Play regulations, but giving him a season to show his worth at Villa may have been the better choice.
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Sheffield United could soon be relegated, but Archer has adapted well to regular first-team football in the top flight and this could stand him in good stead for the future.
Duran’s future at Villa is still unclear, especially as Emery signed Rogers last month to take the pressure off Watkins with regard to goals.
If he can return from injury and score a few goals towards the end of the season, then his future at Aston Villa may look a lot brighter than it does right now.
Otherwise, Duran could find himself on the move once again and Emery may come to regret selling Archer last summer.