While heading to the locker room after the 1-0 defeat of Middlesbrough by Aston Villa, Morgan Rogers began to suspect that something was underway.
Although it is a global industry that is worth billions of pounds, football is still a small world. It is difficult for those who work in the game to maintain the secrets of their classmates and, therefore, the information fragments of Unai Emery's analysis meetings before the third round of the FA Cup in January 2024 soon found their way to Rogers.
“I kept mentioning it,” was the word of the Rogers opponents on the side of the town that day. “It really seems to qualify.”
As flattered as Rogers, he was also a bit surprised. He had not been an automatic headline in the Championship for the Michael Carrick team and before bornery of Manchester City in the summer of 2023, he had spent time on loan with Lincoln, Blackpool and Bournemouth. While Rogers was clearly talented, there was little in those periods to suggest that he would become a £ 100 million player.
Emery saw it differently and the £ 8.5 million agreement takes Rogers to Villa Park shortly after that clash at the Riverside Stadium is one of the best times. While Villa tries to ensure his place in the Champions League the last eight by delaying the Bruges club on Wednesday, Rogers is being established as one of the most dangerous attackers in Europe, with 12 goals and six assists in all competitions.
Villa has no interest in selling to the 22 -year -old at this stage, but once they would consider it, they could anticipate a rate that exceeds the sum of £ 100 million clubs that took Jack Grealish to Manchester City almost four years ago.
Morgan Rogers caught the attention of Unai Emery when Aston Villa faced Middlesbrough in the FA Cup
The 22 -year -old is enjoying a break -up campaign for the Midlands Club and would consult a great rate to sign
The midfielder also spent time on loan in league one with Lincoln City during the 2020-2021 season
Instead, the goal is to have Rogers in the heart of the project. The striker signed a new contract only last November, taking it closer to the best winners of Villa, but if he continues to act like this, his terms are likely to improve before the year comes out.
If Villa qualifies again for the Champions League, those plans will be much easier to make: Rogers will have the platform to compete once again against the best in Europe, under an elite manager in an ambitious club. If they do not reach the competition of the main clubs of Europe, the rich elite can begin to surround.
Oliver Dehnhardt was part of the Ajax recruitment department when Dutch giants were tracking Chuba Akpom, a teammate Rogers during his spell in Middlesbrough. With his ability to play halfway, Rogers intrigued Ajax at that time and Dehnhardt, who is now head of football strategy on the world exploration platform, has followed him closely since then.
“It's all that is correct about British football,” Dehnhardt told Mail Sport. 'He wins his part of defensive duels and attacking duels. It is a joy to observe an explorer.
'Passing the Premier League championship, it seems to have sharpened. The better the players around him, the better it seems to be. It was if he could improve his death in forward areas and I feel he has done it.
'Attack the penalty picture with the ball at his feet, that means fouls, sanctions, a completely different set of problems for a defender team. It reminds me of Paul Pogba when I was in Juventus, or Yaya Toure at Manchester City under Roberto Mancini, when he used to move from position No. 6 to No 10 later in a game.
'I think he can play in one of the best clubs like Bayern Munich or Liverpool and can be as decisive as Jude Bellingham for the club and the country. In fact, I could see them playing very well for England.
However, becoming a champion is not just about delivering the field. It is about appearing on time for each training session. Doing the necessary gymnastics work before and after. Eat correctly and sleeping correctly. As Chief Celta Brendan Rodgers once reflected during his time in Leicester: “Being a superior player can be a bit boring.”
English has made comparisons with Yaya Toure during his time at the Premier League with Manchester City
Rogers's physical domain and ability to drive with the ball carry some similarities with Jude Bellingham
Emery will not tolerate players trying to cut corners and, in that sense, it feels significant that Rogers has been the only constant in numerous attack combinations this season. The head of Villa still demands a continuous improvement and celebrates regular meetings with Rogers to ensure that it is based on what it has already achieved.
Rogers still grants possession too regularly in the central areas, which can leave Villa exhibited. One of the assets overlooked Grealish in Villa was his ability to maintain possession or extract offenses, allowing his teammates to breathe and go up the field. It is his enthusiasm to achieve the goal, Rogers sometimes meets traffic or plays a pass too ambitious, pressing his team under pressure again. I could also do better in the air: according to OPTA data, Rogers has won only eight of its 47 aerial duels in the Premier League this season.
When Emery tries to instill these concepts, Rogers is a arranged apprentice, how Michael Appleton knows well. Appleton was in charge of Lincoln when Rogers, 18, joined the Club of the League one in the Loan of City in January 2021. At that time, the Tottenham striker Brennan Johnson was also in a short -term agreement with the IMPs.
“When we were preparing defensive pieces, Morgan asked to mark the biggest players in the opposition,” Appleton recalled to send him Sport. 'And when he had the ball, he didn't care about contact or marking.
'I wanted to learn and ask questions at meetings. He appeared in Lincoln after his experience in the city saying “I just want to play football.”
'He was able to control the ball on his back foot and that would allow him to play forward quickly. He was silent and shy and perhaps lost a little in the system in the city, but always had an internal belief in his own ability.
Fortunately for Rogers, Emery shares that opinion. The head of Villa believes that versatility is one of the most important qualities in modern football and Rogers flexibility caught attention at the same time.
Using video clips on your laptop, Emery has spent hours with Rogers explaining the tactical requirements of the wide attackers, No. 10 and No. 9 in your system. The Basque has worked with some of the best strikers in the world and has been surprised by the speed with which Rogers absorbs his instructions: when to fall, when to press, when to remain wide, when to move inside.
Rogers has continued to be a constant on the bass side Emery, who demands many of his players
Although Rogers has appeared in 39 of the 43 games of Villa this season, he continues to meet Emery's demands relatively comfortable and the coaches are happy with their physical production.
While they would not admit it, Villa would relieve if Rogers overlooks when Thomas Tuchel appoints his first England team. Emery is confident that he will soon be added to his two senior caps, although Lee Carsley will feel his anger if he selects Rogers again for children under 21 years.
“What is a player like Morgan Rogers winning playing for children under 21?” Emery demanded last August. 'If they had called it for the senior team, I could understand it. Morgan Rogers is a reality now and is confirming it.
The defenders of the Premier League who have marked Rogers this season will confirm Emery qualified with the right. And if he helps Villa to pass witches, Rogers will face the biggest game of his career, a quarter of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain. Everything we have seen so far suggests that Rogers would face the challenge.