Cameron Archer left out of Southampton matchday squad amid Rangers transfer latest
Cameron Archer has been left out of the Southampton squad on Saturday amid speculation linking the striker with a move to Rangers.
Ahead of kick-off in their Championship game against Stoke City, Southampton confirmed that Archer, 24, hasn’t even made their bench for the trip to the Bet365 Stadium.
Danny Rohl is eager to bolster his strike force before the winter transfer window closes on Monday night.
Rangers have been frustrated in their attempts to sign Hansa Rostock’s Ryan Naderi, while a loan move for Leeds striker Joel Piroe is starting to look unlikely.
Those failures have now seen them linked with a late move to sign Archer, who’s been on the fringes of the Southampton squad throughout the season.
Cameron Archer wanted in Rangers loan deal
According to the Daily Record, Archer is a serious target for Rangers in the final days of the winter transfer window.
It is understood that the Gers are keen on signing him on loan.
If that were to happen, Southampton want Rangers to pay a major chunk of Archer’s wages between now and the end of the season.
The Saints are looking to fee up some of their wages after a disappointing first season back in the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League last term.
Going into their clash against Stoke on Saturday, Tonda Eckert’s side is 15th in the table and have won just one of their last nine league games.
Does this mean Rangers are signing Archer?
Archer’s exclusion from the Southampton squad at Stoke likely means that he’s on his way out of St Mary’s Stadium in the final hours of the winter transfer window.
Of course, there’s a chance that he’s injured, unwell, not in Eckert’s plans, or another club is trying to sign him.
However, ahead of this weekend, Eckert failed to mention any of those things when speaking to the media.
Archer has scored just four goals in 23 appearances across all competitions this season. In the Championship, he’s started only six matches, averaging 31 minutes per game across his 19 league outings.
Stats by Sofascore show that he’s converted just 28.6 per cent of the big chances that he’s had to score.
The former Aston Villa striker is clearly not in Eckert’s plans, and while a loan deal would make sense for Southampton, Rangers and the player himself, the finances have to be right.
The Gers have spent a lot of money in recent years so they can’t be wasting big wages on Archer if he’s not going to be starring that heavily.
Rohl still has Bojan Miovski, Youssef Chermiti and Danilo as options up front, so he does have the bodies to play there.
The Rangers manager has to be sure that Archer is a first-choice option for him. If so, then it makes sense to agree to Southampton’s demands.
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