West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a big blow to their chances of securing a summer deal for reported target Cameron Archer.

What's the news?

In a recent Twitter post, presenter and journalist Rob Scanlon had this to say on the situation.

"Interviewed @AVFCOfficial boss Steven Gerrard for @premierleague recently: “We’ve made a decision with @Cameronarcher_ that he’ll be staying in the door. He will be part of the first team group and he needs to be ready when called upon to contribute to the team”."

Bearing in mind how Baggies manager Steve Bruce recently said that he's hoping to add a couple of players to his squad on loan before the window closes, it seems as though a line can be crossed through the possibility of Archer being one of those potential additions.

Bruce will be gutted

Now that the Villa boss has pretty much put to bed any chance of the 20-year-old making a move away from the club this summer, this will surely be a big blow for the Baggies that leaves Bruce gutted.

The youngster is somewhat of a goal machine, with 34 goals to his name in 106 club appearances at youth and senior level, seven of which came in 20 appearances with Preston North End in the Championship last season during his loan spell at Deepdale.

As a result, it's easy to see what sort of attributes the player would have been able to offer Bruce's side.

In fact, despite only joining the Lancashire club in January, the Englishman still managed to end the campaign with the second-highest number of shots on target (20) at the club as well as a higher average of shots per game (2.3) than any other Preston player.

Having gone through their previous Championship campaign with the lowest percentage for shots on target (29.1%) in the division, having a player like Archer who can find the back of the net on a regular basis would have been a great capture for the Baggies.

If the West Brom manager wants to add a new attacker to his ranks before the transfer window closes, he and the club will have to move on from Archer and find a suitable candidate that can come in and help fire the team towards promotion.