Host of Championship clubs including West Brom target Southampton frontman
The latest in Albion’s summer transfer pursuit.
Albion like Southampton’s Cameron Archer - but face substantial competition to land the in-demand striker.
Highly-coveted frontman Archer, 24, is believed to be admired by the Baggies as a target to boost boss James Morrison’s forward options.
But Albion face a long list of competition from clubs also keen on the pacy former Villa frontman, including a host of fellow Championship clubs.
Black Country-born Archer, who hails from Walsall, has seen his career progress stall somewhat since a big-money switch to Southampton two years ago.
It remains to be seen what sort of deal Southampton would sanction for the striker.
He moved to St Mary’s from Villa Park for a fee reported to start at £15million in 2024.
The Saints were Premier League at the time and Archer appeared 35 times - 13 as a starter. Game time did not increase in last season’s Championship campaign, which ended in the ‘spygate’ scandal for Tonda Eckert’s side.
Former Walsall Academy student Archer started just 11 Championship fixtures, with a further 19 appearances from the bench in the second tier.
Morrison’s forward options are currently last season’s top scorer Aune Heggebo and two new summer recruits Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Barney Stewart.
Daryl Dike was released with Josh Maja, who was out of contract but offered a new deal, to move elsewhere. Karlan Grant joined Charlton and fellow wideman Jed Wallace switched to Bristol City.
Archer has previously proven his quality in the Championship with a couple of prolific loans, at Preston and Middlesbrough between 2021 and 2023. Albion were previously linked with loan interest when the forward was at neighbours Villa.
The striker also spent a Premier League campaign with Sheffield United before his switch to Hampshire.
Archer is the youngest of four brothers, all of whom had careers in professional or non-league football and all were strikers.
Archer scored four times for Villa’s first team in two early EFL Cup rounds in the 2021/22 campaign, a hat-trick at Barrow and in a penalty shootout defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
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