Gabby Agbonlahor urges Aston Villa striker to leave in January after England snub

Gabby Agbonlahor has encouraged Aston Villa striker to ‘re-evaluate’ his position at the club ahead of the January transfer window.

The 20-year-old was heavily linked with another loan move away this summer after scoring seven goals in 21 appearances whilst with Preston North End last season.

The likes of Sunderland and Middlesbrough had been rumoured to be interested in Archer, however he opted to remain at Villa Park after impressing Steven Gerrard in pre-season.

Despite that, Archer has been restricted to just 10 minutes of senior football this season and has failed to claim a spot in the line-up ahead of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings.

The forward’s lack of game time has resulted in him dropped from the England Under-21 squad and Agbonlahor has now urged him to leave the club to help further his development.

Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor said: “He won’t be happy but it was obvious he wasn’t going to get the minutes. [Ollie] Watkins is a very good striker so he’s going to play him. Then you’ve got [Danny] Ings who is going to be second choice.

“Archer must have known he was going to be third choice so he’s got to accept that and try and get out on loan in January. At his age, you never want to be getting a couple of minutes here and there, you want to be playing regularly.

“That’s what he needs to do, go to the Championship and play. He needs to re-evaluate in January because he’s not going to get the minutes at all. Sometimes Villa will want to play one up front, then he’s got to get off after Ings, Ings is always going to be the first sub if he’s not starting.”

Archer has only made a total of nine senior appearances for Aston Villa since making his debut in 2019 and scored four goals in two appearances in the League Cup last season.

With Villa struggling for form, Archer could be handed more minutes later in the campaign, however he will have to decided whether he wants to take the risk of staying at the club past January.