Shropshire Star

Aston Villa could keep hold of Cameron Archer

Boss Dean Smith says Villa are looking at keeping Cameron Archer ‘around the first-team squad’ after his dream debut.

Published
Aston Villa's Cameron Archer (left) scores

Archer scored a hat-trick on his first senior start as Villa put six past Barrow in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Smith insists lots of clubs would like to take the 19-year-old on loan before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday night.

But he appears likely to stick around as the Villa chief said: “He’s one who might stay with us to see if we can develop him around the first-team squad.

“He had a really good pre-season. He scored a hat-trick in an internal friendly, too, so he’s certainly taken his opportunity in front of us as coaches.

“After this weekend, we’ll have a chat. There’s certainly a lot of takers for him at the moment. So, we’ll have a chat with him and the other coaches regarding his development.”