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Aston Villa offering a deal to this 26-year-old ace currently on trial would be a rather puzzling move and here’s why

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Why Aston Villa offering Jordan Archer a deal would be quite bizarre

According to the Daily Mail, former Millwall goalkeeper Jordan Archer is currently training with Aston Villa, with the 26-year-old hoping to find a new club following his release from The Den earlier in the summer. 

The 1-cap Scotland international is currently a free agent and Villa shouldn’t have any difficulties in registering him outside of the transfer window if he is deemed worthy of a deal by the coaching staff. 

Archer is hoping to impress Villa’s goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler during the ongoing international break and he is likely to train with the likes of Jed Steer and Orjan Nyland, the shot-stoppers who haven’t departed Villa Park on international duty. 

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Born in Walthamstow, Jordan Archer rose through the youth ranks of Tottenham Hotspur but he never really managed to make the grade at his boyhood club, spending time on loan at Harrow Borough, Wycombe Wanderers, Northampton Town and Millwall before joining the latter on a free transfer in 2015. 

The 26-year-old carved out a big reputation for himself as a reliable shot-stopper at The Den, winning the club’s 2015-16 Player of the Season Award in League One and helping the Lions secure promotion to the Championship with his consistently impressive displays between the sticks in the following campaign. 

Archer served as the undisputed first-choice in goal over the last couple of seasons in the Championship but he was released by Millwall at the end of the previous campaign after clocking up more than 200 appearances. 

The 6ft. 1-inch shot-stopper represented Scotland at various age-group levels before earning his senior international debut against Peru last year, although he is yet to make another appearance for his nation after enduring a nightmarish professional bow where he was at fault for both the goals in a 2-0 defeat. 

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To put things into perspective, Jordan Archer is currently a trialist at Aston Villa and, while the report doesn’t clearly mention whether the Villans are keen to offer him an escape route back to football, Dean Smith should be wise enough to know that he already has an abundance of options between the sticks and adding Archer to the payroll isn’t the need of the hour.

Jed Steer, who played a key role in Villa’s promotion-winning campaign in the Championship the last term, has been forced to play second-fiddle to summer recruit Tom Heaton, while Orjan Nyland hasn’t played since recovering from a long-term Achilles injury.

The former Burnley man has established himself as Villa’s undisputed No.1 between the sticks in the Premier League and, with Steer enjoying some involvement in the cup competitions, Nyland has found himself lost in the cold.

Additionally, Villa have yet another goalkeeping option in Croatian international Lovre Kalinic, who came through the door back in January but hasn’t played since suffering a concussion against West Brom in February. 

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Suffice to say, Villa currently have four senior goalkeepers competing for the No.1 role, which is completely unnecessary, given that they already have a reliable and established first-choice in Tom Heaton. 

To that end, Aston Villa offering Jordan Archer a deal would only increase their wage bills and it is a blunder that the Lions just cannot afford, as there is hardly anything to suggest that the 26-year-old could possibly be an upgrade on any of the existing options at Villa Park. 

Hence, the Lions would be better of getting rid of any ideas that might have had about snapping him up for free.