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Aston Villa rejoice in progress of loan army as youngsters strive to show they belong
Aston Villa’s data analysts began crunching the numbers late last year, in anticipation of sanctioning an important January transfer window exit.Cameron Archer was the subject of interest from 12 Championship clubs — half the division — as well as other sides outside English football’s second tier, but Villa were not prepared to let their young forward go anywhere unless they found him the perfect fit.
Villa’s data team flagged up that Middlesbrough, under impressive new manager Michael Carrick, had created more chances than any other side in the Championship while mounting a sprint up the table into the play-off positions. If he moved to Middlesbrough, Archer would have a greater opportunity of scoring goals than anywhere else.
Choosing the right destination for his next loan was key because the first six months of 2023 would go some way to deciding whether Archer, who turned 21 in early December, was capable of pushing for a place in Villa’s first team next season.
If he scored regularly for a team chasing Premier League promotion, the parallels would be obvious with team-mate Ollie Watkins, signed by Villa for £28million from then-Championship side Brentford in the summer of 2020. If Archer laboured on Teesside, however, then it would be time to consider selling the academy graduate in the next window for what would constitute a considerable profit.
To that end, they have achieved some clarity over the past three months.
Archer’s nine goals and six assists in 17 games for Middlesbrough show he has earned the right to at least be given an opportunity to fight for a place in Villa’s first team.
His success also suggests Villa’s data team were right when they pushed him to consider Middlesbrough ahead of all those other interested clubs.
Football is unpredictable, but detailed preparation behind the scenes can limit the risk of a loan going badly.
All of Villa’s evidence suggested Middlesbrough was the perfect destination, and so it has proved. Archer will return to the Midlands this summer with his reputation enhanced as one of the standout academy graduates at the club and in line to represent England Under-21s at the European Championship being hosted in Romania and Georgia from June 21.
If Archer doesn’t end up taking his chance to progress in Unai Emery’s first team next term, another club will still likely pay Villa a significant fee so they can grant him that opportunity — reassured of his pedigree by how well he did at Middlesbrough.
Archer is one of many young players helping Villa become more self-sustainable.
Their successful loans programme and attention to youth development have been praised within the industry. Among Premier League clubs, Villa have the highest number of players under the age of 22 — six at present — out on loan in the Championship and League One, the game’s third tier, combined this season.
There are multiple success stories among them.
Aaron Ramsey, the younger brother of 21-year-old Villa first-team star Jacob, is also at Middlesbrough and performing well. Carrick’s assistant Aaron Danks was formerly on the coaching staff at Villa and knew the attacking midfielder from those days. As with Archer, Villa were keen to place Ramsey, 20, with a team playing an attractive brand of football at the higher end of the second division.
Forward Jaden Philogene, 21, is another shining in the Championship at Cardiff City. Tim Iroegbunam, a member of England Under-19s’ European Championship-winning team alongside Aaron Ramsey last summer, started well in the same division at Queens Park Rangers this season and returned against Norwich City from a few weeks out through injury.
Iroegbunam celebrates after scoring for QPR against Blackburn in February (Photo: Rhianna Chadwick/PA Images via Getty Images)
Villa listened to multiple offers for the 19-year-old’s services but decided on QPR because their then-manager Michael Beale, previously Steven Gerrard’s No 2 at Villa, mapped out a clear pathway for Iroegbunam in an advanced midfield role.
Full-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden, 20, played the first half of the season at Huddersfield Town in the Championship and turned down opportunities to move on loan to clubs in the Scottish Premiership and at the top end of League One in January. Finn Azaz, 22, has lit it up League One with seven goals and eight assists for leaders Plymouth Argyle, and Lamare Bogarde has earned praise in the same division at Bristol Rovers, whom he joined in January.
Bogarde decided against moving to a Championship side in a relegation battle as this was going to be his first loan move. Playing regular football was the 19-year-old midfielder’s preference and he felt he could achieve that more immediately in the third tier. After two early appearances off the bench, he has started the last 11 league games.
The chance to play under and learn from a former Premier League midfielder in Rovers’ manager Joey Barton also appealed.
Barton had no chance to watch Bogarde live before signing him as he was out injured. But he assessed the teenager via match-video analysis service Wyscout before pushing through the loan, and has since admitted to being surprised by his quality. “You could see he was competent, could handle the ball and we needed a body in that area,” Barton told the Bristol Post in mid-March. “But he’s better than what I predicted. “I knew he was a good player, Aston Villa thought really highly of him and they said, ‘Look, he’s a game player. There’ll be things he does in training that will frustrate you, but just let him go in games, let him play and he’ll show you what he can do’.”
In League Two, Louie Barry’s statistics (one goal, two assists) in 16 appearances for play-offs contenders Salford City don’t make for pretty reading but the 19-year-old forward’s performances have been good. What happens next season for him is still uncertain.
The fact so many loanees are impressing at lower levels and growing in value suggests there is a logic to the club’s strategy.
Adam Henshall, their head of emerging talent, is a big part of the process. Alongside Mile Jedinak, the former Villa and Australia midfielder who is now the club’s loans manager, Henshall works with the data team — overseen by sporting director Johan Lange — and head of the academy Mark Harrison to assist those farmed out by the club.
Henshall and Jedinak check in regularly with these players to assess their living arrangements, what they are eating, how they are training and their progress in matches. Players have to fill out reports after games and are allotted time to discuss performances with those back at Bodymoor Heath. Lange typically gets more involved if the loanee is considered a first-team player.
When owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens and chief executive Christian Purslow appointed Lange in the immediate aftermath of Villa avoiding relegation in the final game of their first season back in the Premier League three years ago, one of his tasks was to help build a thriving youth-development department.
At the time, Villa had just two young players out on loan in the EFL — Andre Green at Preston North End and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy at fellow Championship side Derby County. Now they are one of the leading lights in the Premier League with a stack of developing talent on their books.
Villa’s tag of ‘big spenders’ is also changing.
Over the past two transfer windows, they have been moving towards a smarter model, after investing heavily in Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne at the request of then-manager Gerrard last January. Yet their net spend over the last two seasons is still around the £40million ($50m) mark, largely due to the £100m sale of Jack Grealish, another youth-team product, to Manchester City in the summer of 2021.
An academy that produced the first British player ever to be sold for a nine-figure sum must be doing something right, but the bigger picture was not so pretty not so long ago. It has taken three to four years for Villa to reach a point where the youth setup is flourishing and reaping rewards.
Carney Chukwuemeka’s £20million move to Chelsea last summer is another example of Villa making a huge profit on a player. He was one they initially wanted to keep but once it was clear the midfielder was intent upon leaving, Villa drove a hard bargain. The fee received is all the more remarkable when one considers Chukwuemeka was coming to the end of his contract.
Other youthful talents are already making their mark around Emery’s senior setup.
Full-back Sebastian Revan was a member of Villa’s Youth Cup-winning team in 2021 and has been on the bench for the past three Premier League games. Emery called him up to train with the first team after Matty Cash picked up an injury and the 19-year-old made a favourable impression. Travis Patterson, another full-back and just 17 years old, also won a first call-up to the matchday squad for Saturday’s thumping of Newcastle United. There are high hopes for both.
Villa hope to see another influx of players pushing for places in the first-team over the next two years. They are prepared to recruit aggressively at youth level to bring some of the top talents in England and Scotland to the club. They are an attractive proposition at present, with the success of their loanees representing a strong selling point.
Those seeing out this season elsewhere are gearing up for an interesting few months. Archer and Ramsey are pushing for promotion with Middlesbrough, which would almost certainly have to come via the play-offs, while Azaz is hoping to help Plymouth Argyle go up from the third tier as champions.
Already, Villa are fielding calls to discuss what might happen next with some of their other exciting youngsters.
The future looks bright.
