Josh Archer is a tenacious young central midfielder who started out at Ridgeway Rovers before making the move to his boyhood club, Linfield, at youth level. He joined Linfield U14s and proceeded to making his way up through the ranks. Josh went on to become captain of Linfield Swifts who he captained into a Steel and Sons Cup final in 2021, narrowly losing to Newington on the day.

Archer made his Linfield first team debut in a 6-0 win over PSNI in the League Cup in October 2020 and it was a night to remember for the midfielder who scored an emphatic debut goal which won the club’s Goal of the Month award. At the time, he was one of six players on Linfield’s full-time scholarship programme.

Months after signing a first professional contract with Linfield, the midfielder spent the 2022-23 season on loan with Portadown in what was a breakthrough season for the-then 19-year-old in the Irish League, scoring three times in 32 appearances as he picked up the Ports’ Player of the Season award and became a fans’ favourite at Shamrock Park despite Portadown’s relegation. He was rewarded with a contract extension at Linfield, which he signed in May 2023.

Archer returned from the beneficial loan spell and challenged for a starting spot in Linfield’s senior team, making 26 appearances in all competitions and scoring once – a winning goal in a 1-0 home league win over Crusaders. Archer rewarded for a stellar season with a Northern Ireland U21 debut in a 3-0 defeat away to Czech Republic U21.

At the beginning of the 2024/25 season, Archer changed his squad number from 53 to 21.