Cameron Archer is exactly what West Brom need - Michael Carrick reference proves it
Cameron Archer has ties to Aston Villa, but Michael Carrick has explained why he'd be a home run for West Bromwich Albion.
The 24-year-old has been with Southampton since the summer of 2024, having joined them from Villa in a deal worth up to £17million.
A former England youth international, he's scored 11 times in 76 total appearances for Saints, which isn't the kind of return that leaps off the page.
Having joined Aston Villa aged eight from Walsall, Archer made his senior debut at just 17 years old in 2019, and went on to make 15 appearances for the Villa Park outfit.
Netting four times and providing three assists from 30 Championship games last season, Archer hasn't quite been finding his mark in front of goal in recent times.
But, this is a player who has proven himself to have deadly goalscoring ability at second-tier level, as witnessed by one of his former gaffers, Carrick.
What did Michael Carrick say about Cameron Archer?
After scoring seven goals in 20 Championship appearances during the second half of the 2021-22 season whilst on loan at Preston, Archer returned to Aston Villa in the summer of 2022.
He was handed the chance to win a first-team role at Villa Park for the opening of the 2022-23 campaign, but after making just six Premier League appearances, he was unable to do so.
As a result, he was shipped back out on loan to Championship side Middlesbrough for the second half of that term, where Carrick was putting together a promotion charge at the Riverside Stadium.
Archer would go on to score 11 goals and register six assists in just 22 Championship games for Boro that year, but despite that, the Smoggies were beaten in the play-off semi-finals by Coventry City.
Many Teessiders were desperate to see Archer brought back for 2023-24, but with Sheffield United agreeing to pay Villa £18m for his services, that wasn't going to be the case.
Speaking in an April 2023 interview via Teesside Live, then-Boro boss Carrick was quizzed on the possibility of a permanent transfer for Archer, and the now-Man United gaffer took the chance to wax lyrical about his loan star.
"Cam has done great. He's fitted in really well in and around the group, as all the boys have," Carrick said.
"He loves scoring goals, you can see that. He loves his finishing and shooting, he loves scoring goals.
"On top of that, he's unselfish with the way he plays with his movements and bringing others players into play."
Archer's underlying numbers back-up Carrick's claims
So, with West Brom boss James Morrison said to be keen on signing Archer this summer, as per Steve Tudgay, who is followed by the likes of Ian Wright, the Baggies' forward ranks could soon be bolstered further.
With the likes of Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan already through the door, Archer's signing would signal the arrival of a proven marksman looking to rekindle his magic goalscoring touch.
Carrick's claims about Archer being "unselfish" and "bringing others into play" aren't just phrases he threw around in the hopes of sweet-talking the striker into staying at the Riverside either. They're bound in fact.
As per FotMob, Archer's 0.14 expected assists per 90 minutes in the Championship last season ranked him in the top 3.6 percentile of all strikers in the division in 2025-26.
Going back to his previous 2022-23 season in the Championship, none of his positional rivals bettered his 0.24 per 90 number in that same category that year either.
Last term also saw him place in the leading 13.1 per cent of Championship strikers for his 77 per cent pass success rate and for his 1.17 tackles per game respectively.
Therefore, if West Brom were to sign Archer and get him back to his goalscoring best, not only would they be signing a striker fit to fire them to a promotion push, but also one who would cover every blade of grass and make others around him better too.