Sunderland are keen on signing Cameron Archer with Aston Villa potentially set to send the former Preston North End loanee out again.
Archer joined PNE on loan back in January as North End fended off major competition for his signature.
Ryan Lowe’s friendship with Steven Gerrard probably helped and we ended up being very thankful for it.
Archer bagged seven goals in 20 appearances for North End and none will be remember quite as fondly as the winner against Blackpool in April.
Fans begged and pleaded for Archer to return but for all of PNE’s efforts, a new loan deal for Archer just couldn’t be done.
That was frustrating enough for PNE fans but seeing Archer play just 52 minutes of first-team action for Villa this season? That has been a little difficult to swallow.
North End supporters are still crying out for Archer to come back in January but, unsurprisingly, Championship clubs are queueing up.
The Birmingham Mail claim that Sunderland are one of a host of Championship clubs keen to take Archer on loan.
Sunderland currently sit 15th in the Championship table, but only four points adrift of North End in ninth.
It would very frustrating too see Archer join a club who were in a similar situation to PNE when he joined in January.
If Villa want to send Archer to an automatic promotion contender then fine, at least it’s a taste of something different from his time at PNE.
A deal with Sunderland just doesn’t feel like major progression from where Archer ended last season, even if we can appreciate that the Black Cats are ultimately a bigger club that North End.
We would still love to see Archer come back to Deepdale in 2023 but with more and more interest building, it’s looking a little unlikely.