'All signs point to Archer being ready to step up to the Premier League'
- Published
Ben Meakin, BladesPod, external
Some 27 days after selling Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille, Sheffield United finally signed another attacking player as Cameron Archer was unveiled to the Bramall Lane crowd before the game against Manchester City. It’s a move we’ve been eyeing for a while and I’m excited to see what he can bring to our side over the remaining 35 games.
When we were last promoted to the Premier League in 2019, our transfer policy largely revolved around cherry-picking the best from the Championship – a policy that didn’t really work out, with only Oli McBurnie making a meaningful contribution from that crop of signings.
You could make the case that we’ve ended up adopting a similar ethos this summer, with Archer joining Coventry City standout Gus Hamer and Birmingham City’s player of the year Auston Trusty.
However, all signs point to Archer being ready to step up to the Premier League, particularly in a team where he’ll immediately become the main man up top.
Archer’s half-season loan at Middlesbrough last campaign could scarcely have gone better. He was arguably the standout player in the Championship in 2023, racking up 11 goals and six assists in 20 matches for Boro. Archer’s underlying numbers, external were even more impressive: his expected goals per 90 minutes played were in the 91st percentile, while his expected assist numbers were higher than any other player in the league last season.
In Archer and Hamer, we might have replaced the goals and chance creation that we lost the second Ndiaye decided he wanted to move to his boyhood club. Hopefully our new striker can hit the ground running.