Sheffield United sign Archer from Villa

Sheffield United signed England Under-21 striker Cameron Archer from Aston Villa in a deal worth a reported £18.5 million ($23.2 million) on Sunday.

Archer, a Villa academy graduate, agreed a four-year contract with promoted United.

The 21-year-old caught the eye while scoring 11 goals in 17 starts for Middlesbrough after joining them on loan in the Championship in January.

He was also part of the England side that won the Under 21 European Championship earlier this year.

Archer was willing to leave Villa in search of more regular first-team action in the Premier League.

“Everyone is happy if they are playing football regularly. That’s something I want to do now,” said Archer, who was presented to fans on the pitch at Bramall Lane prior to Sunday’s game against Manchester City.

“I think it was important to come here and look for Premier League football, that was key for me because I want to make that next step now and challenge myself. Hopefully I can do that here.

“Sheffield United have a long history of developing players in terms of playing and hopefully making better people as well.”

Archer joins Anis Ben Slimane, Benie Traore, Yasser Larouci, Auston Trusty, Vinicius Souza, Gustavo Hamer and Tom Davies as United’s signings since winning promotion from the Championship last season.

“There was a great opportunity for us to sign a young, exciting forward and one who showed a desire to join us,” Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom said.

“Cameron brings us pace, agility and a goalscoring record – we are looking forward to working with him.”

smg/bsp