Morgan Rogers told he should be joining Arsenal instead of Chelsea - ex-Aston Villa scout

Arsenal may have been a better move than Chelsea for the next stage of Morgan Rogers' development.

That is the opinion of former senior Aston Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The Blues agreed a massive £117million deal to sign the 23-year-old last week, in a move that appeared to come out of nowhere.

All summer, the talk had been that Rogers was set to join Arsenal, but the Premier League champions dragged their feet and have missed out on their top target.

It has since emerged that the Gunners wanted to pay just £90-100m for the England international this summer, and rejected the chance to match Chelsea's offer.

Rogers' arrival is expected to be announced in the coming days, and he will sign a six-year deal with the option of an additional year.

Arsenal 'better move' for Morgan Rogers

For some time now, Chelsea has represented an unstable environment for a young player.

Frequent managerial departures, numerous signings and a seeming willingness to always sell for a profit.

However, the very best, such as Cole Palmer, have been able to thrive at Stamford Bridge, and Rogers will hope to do the same.

Especially following the arrival of Xabi Alonso, who was reportedly key to the 23-year-old's arrival and appears to have been given far more authority than those before him.

"I'm not sure whether that's the right move for Rogers, Chelsea. I am surprised by it. Again, it's got to be money. It's got to be money," King told Football Insider.

He continued: "I thought he would have been suited to Arsenal, to be honest. If he was going to move, Arsenal would have been a good move for him.

"You're moving to the champions. You're not moving to a team that's struggling to get into Europe, who have not only spent a lot of money, but they spent it poorly, Chelsea.

"Whether it's the right move for him, my jury is out on that, because it was a surprise to me that he said yes to Chelsea and didn't push for Arsenal."

Xabi Alonso's track record promises development

More than anything, it appears to be the presence of Alonso that has convinced Rogers to join Chelsea.

The Spaniard is extremely highly rated from his time at Bayer Leverkusen, and has overseen the development of several players of similar talent.

Namely Florian Wirtz, who exploded under the Spaniard, scoring 38 goals and providing 41 assists in 119 appearances.

Chelsea will hope that Alonso can continue to develop Rogers, with the midfielder having already produced terrific numbers for Villa.