Aston Villa boss Unai Emery explains why Cameron Archer 'needs' Sheffield United transfer
Latest Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as Unai Emery explains decision to let Cameron Archer leave his squad
Cameron Archer is closing in on a permanent transfer to Sheffield United and Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery says the striker needs to leave to continue his development.
The Blades agreed a £18.5million transfer fee with Villa to sign Archer earlier this week and the 21-year-old underwent a medical on Wednesday. Villa negotiated a buy-back clause for Archer, so they retain a degree of control over his future.
Archer came off the bench in the 4-0 win over Everton last Sunday, but was not guaranteed regular minutes in the Premier League under Emery this campaign. After bagging 11 goals in 20 appearances while on loan at Middlesbrough in the second half of last season, Archer once again proved himself in the Championship before being given the opportunity to impress in pre-season back at Villa.
"I spoke with Cameron Archer at the beginning of pre-season, and like every player, he needs to play and to progress," Emery said. "He did very good work last year in the Championship with Middlesbrough. Now he has the opportunity to leave.
"I don’t know if it’s 100 per cent official, but if he leaves it is good for him and good for the club because we can take money from the transfer.
"Then, we are trying to get under control of the possibilities because we believe in him and I think we are close in the deal with those circumstances like we want."
United manager Paul Heckingbottom is hoping the deal will be completed in time for Archer to feature against Manchester City this weekend.