Morgan Rogers: Inside contract discontent, Aston Villa block him speaking to giants and what comes next
Morgan Rogers’ summer of discontent is laid bare today and at the heart of his troubles are wage issues and being denied the chance to speak to Arsenal and Chelsea, sources have told Football Insider.
Rogers has struggled under Unai Emery this season and become a frustrated figure, on, and off, the pitch.
Villa fans have criticised his lacklustre displays and a victim of a bad tackle by Sunderland‘s Trai Hume last weekend prompted Rogers to post a snappy message on social media.
His irritation and lack of form aren’t the only issues. The 23-year-old is unsettled after seeing new arrivals who rarely play earn significantly more, consequently, as Football Insider exclusively revealed, Aston Villa have opened new contract talks with Rogers.
Dramatic drop in form
It’s no secret, Rogers has been nowhere near the levels he reached last season in Villa‘s first five Premier League games.
The Halesowen-born playmaker has arguably been the country’s most disappointing player in the early stages of the new season.
The 2024-25 campaign saw the former Middlesbrough man predominantly stationed on the right flank and occasionally played through the middle in the No. 10 role.
Rogers’ output in the league last season saw him score eight goals and register 11 assists in 37 appearances, all of which were starts.
The 23-year-old’s performances meant he directly contributed to a goal in over half (51.3 per cent) of the matches he featured in. That average increases to 55 per cent when his Champions League and FA Cup contributions are taken into consideration.
This season has been a different story, though. Emery has primarily positioned Rogers on the left wing — an area of the pitch he has so far proven ineffective in.
Rogers has started in all of Aston Villa’s first five Premier League games, but has failed to lay a glove on all of his opponents; a worrying trend considering the Villans have yet to play any of last season’s top four clubs.
The biggest flaw in his game so far has been his lack of impact in the final third. Rogers has created just one big chance, which came against newly-promoted, and 10-man, Sunderland.
In addition, not only has Villa’s No. 27 failed to deliver a single accurate cross, despite playing out wide, his passing accuracy in the opposition’s half sits at just 64 per cent.
The forward’s drastic drop-off has been without a doubt Emery’s biggest problem, and one Villa, sitting 18th in the table, must solve, and as quickly as possible.
Aston Villa blocked Arsenal talks
Rogers’ form isn’t the only thing that’s been weighing heavy on his mind, though. The summer saw Villa block all approaches from clubs hoping to sign him.
Tottenham made a move for him, and Chelsea lay the groundwork for a push, but sources have told Football Insider that it was the interest of Arsenal that really excited the Villa man..
Mikel Arteta identified Rogers as a player capable of improving the Gunners’ chances of winning the Premier League. All attempts to sign him were blocked, though, forcing Arsenal to press ahead with signing Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace instead.
As a result, Football Insider sources say Rogers has become “unhappy” with the club and spent the summer ruing his missed opportunity.
Internal conflict following new signings
While ‘player power’ has become a hot-topic in recent years, when it comes to Rogers, Villa probably couldn’t have expected anything other than unsettling him.
Despite being one of the first names on Emery’s team sheet, Rogers, a product of Manchester City‘s academy, is among Villa’s lowest earners.
His weekly wages after joining from Boro rose to approximately £25,000 per week; a fair reflection of his status at the time.
Since then, Rogers’ rise, which included earning his first senior England call-up, has been evident. To reflect this, Villa successfully negotiated a new deal with him last November.
Although Rogers’ latest contract included a near-50 per cent wage increase (excluding bonuses), he remains in the lower bracket of earners among the senior players.
The forward’s frustrations stem from Villa’s decision to bring in new signings and place them in considerably higher wage brackets irrespective of their underwhelming impacts. Donyell Malen is the perfect example of this.
The Dutchman joined from Borussia Dortmund in January and immediately became one of Villa’s highest paid players, picking up around £120,000 per week, but appears way down in Emery’s plans after starting just one league game this season.
What happens next
Even though Rogers has endured a disastrous start to the season, he still features prominently in Emery’s plans with the club also viewing him as integral to their ambitions of remaining European regulars.
So what happens next?
Well, Villa’s senior recruitment officials promised Rogers in the sunmer the club would begin talks over a new and improved deal, but those negotiations never took place, and instead were delayed until now.
Keen to tie Rogers down long-term and prevent further discontent, Villa have accepted they’ll need to significantly improve his earnings.
Talks over a new deal are now underway with Villa open to making the 23-year-old one of their best paid players.
It remains to be seen if Rogers’ new contract would be worth more than Jadon Sancho‘s, of which Villa are believed to contribute £200,000 per week towards.
However, with Emiliano Martinez picking up roughly £150,000 per week, sources expect Villa to offer Rogers a deal worth somewhere in the middle.
On the pitch, Villa’s next three league games see them host Fulham (28 September) and Burnley (5 October) before travelling to Spurs (19 October).
Rogers will be expected to knuckle down as the side look to finally get their season up and running.