Micah Richards tells Morgan Rogers the one thing he must fix to get back to his best at Aston Villa
Morgan Rogers has been told he must fix one aspect of his game in order to return to his best form at Aston Villa.
Rogers was linked with a Villa exit over the summer transfer window, with Premier League sides such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham all rumoured to be interested in his signature.
The 23-year-old ended up staying with the Midlands giants, but after a very disappointing start to the season, questions have been asked about his desire to remain at Villa Park.
On Friday (26 September), Football Insider exclusively revealed that Aston Villa had opened talks with Rogers over a new contract, despite his worrying form.
Morgan Rogers ‘back near his best’ against Fulham
On Sunday (28 September), Aston Villa beat Fulham 3-1 to secure their first win of the season and lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
Unai Emery’s side went 1-0 down to an early Raul Jimenez header, but goals from Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Emi Buendia completed the comeback.
Rogers received criticism for his performance against Fulham, but speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, former Villa defender Micah Richards believes that the England international needs to change just one thing to get back to his best.
Richards said: “Morgan Rogers was very good, apart from that last pass. He was getting on the ball on the half-turn and driving forward. He looked back to somewhere near his best.”
Rogers did manage to grab his first goal contriution of the season in the second half against Fulham, although it was slightly lucky as the ball rebounded off him to Buendia, who duly converted.
Rogers will improve as Aston Villa get better
Rogers is far from the only player in an Aston Villa shirt who has had a tough start to the season, but admittedly, his drop-off from the previous campaign has been the biggest.
Last term, the attacking midfielder scored eight goals and picked up 10 assists in the Premier League.
In their win against Fulham, Villa showed signs of improvement, and Rogers will likely benefit if his teammates are playing with more confidence and belief.
The rumours concerning the Englishman’s future will continue to rumble on, and the only way to distract from that is if he is performing on the pitch.
Emery will hope that Rogers, who is his most creative player, is able to return to the form that attracted the likes of Man City and Chelsea in the first place.