‘Aston Villa forced to weigh £100m Morgan Rogers sale to Man City or Chelsea’
Man City and Chelsea look to have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 22-year-old has only gone from strength to strength since arriving at Villa Park from Middlesbrough in February 2024, notching 17 goals and 14 assists in 70 appearances across all competitions.
Football Insider understands that Man City have joined the race for Rogers’ signature, though the Villans did not plan to entertain any offers for the talented attacker, despite the club’s PSR concerns.
Similarly, The Telegraph (22 May) reports that Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are admirers of the Villa player, with the rising superstar now valued at £100million at Villa Park.
With the summer transfer window just days away now, interest is only set to rise , especially with Unai Emery‘s side suffering a brand-new major blow on Sunday, 25 May.
Aston Villa miss out on Champions League qualification
Villa’s sickening defeat to Man United on the final day of the Premier League season crushed their chances of getting back into the Champions League, even after reaching the quarter-finals this term.
Emi Martinez’s sending-off for Villa was a huge turning point in the game, and so too was Thomas Bramall’s horrendous decision to rule out Rogers’ goal after Altay Bayindir was deemed to be in control of the ball.
With the Villans ultimately losing 2-0 at Old Trafford, Emery’s side slipped into the Europa League for the 2025/26 campaign, leading to the club missing out on vital financial bonuses.
Clubs up and down the Premier League are aware of Villa’s financial issues, especially after Douglas Luiz was sold to Juventus last summer to avoid a possible double-digit points deduction from the Premier League.
PSR concerns set to become a reality at Villa Park
According to UEFA’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape, Villa are among the top 10 for pre-tax losses across Europe, with the club’s wage bill increasing by 33 per cent from 2023 to £246million and a huge proportion of their revenue.
Due to these figures, Youri Tielemans has already been linked with a Villa Park exit this summer to alleviate the financial pressure, but the prospect of waving goodbye to Rogers might become a reality.
The 22-year-old, who developed in Man City‘s academy, has lit up the Premier League and the Champions League this season, after becoming an integral part of Emery’s plans.
However, slipping into the Europa League has brought new financial concerns to Villa Park that only the sale of players is likely to fix, and given the club’s evaluation of Rogers, it might just be a matter of time before they accept an offer.
Despite understandable plans to dismiss approaches for the attacking star the financial pressures dictate that should big spenders such as City or Chelsea, who both secured Champions League football on the final day, put a huge offer on the table it might be impossible to ignore.
Only selling the players Emery is willing to sacrifice would obviously be preferable, but that only works if the right offers come in for them.
Rogers has a market because of his ability, and the fee he would command may alleviate immediate concerns in one, so with rivals well aware of Aston Villa’s predicament they may be forced into an uncomfortable decision in the coming weeks.