Southampton seal £15m deal for Aston Villa striker Archer

Southampton have completed the £15million signing of striker Cameron Archer from Aston Villa.

Archer initially left Villa for Sheffield United last year, making 29 Premier League appearances in his first campaign as a top-flight regular and scoring four goals despite the Blades finishing bottom.

Villa retained a buy-back clause on the 22-year-old, however, which they activated in June before handing him minutes throughout pre-season.

However, with Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran, Leon Bailey and Morgan Rogers providing competition in attack, Archer was unlikely to get regular gametime and has now sealed a move to newly promoted Southampton.

Archer has signed a four-year deal with Russell Martin's Saints, who open their Premier League campaign with a trip to Newcastle United on Saturday.

The forward cited Martin's style of play as one of the main attractions of the move when speaking to the club's website, saying: "That was one of the main reasons why I'm here, his playing style, his coaching and him trying to improve me as a player.

"I just want to keep scoring goals and improve myself as a player, and I don't think there's a better place to do that than Southampton."