Morgan Rogers sends message to Amadou Onana as Chelsea eye Aston Villa star
Morgan Rogers has sent a message to Aston Villa teammate Amadou Onana amid rumours of fellow Premier League side Chelsea’s interest in the England international’s services.
Rogers’ rapid rise to success at Villa Park has been nothing short of incredible since he joined the club from Middlesbrough for an initial £8million [BBC] in February last year.
The 22-year-old winger has established himself as one of Unai Emery’s key players amid Villa’s recent Champions League exploits and decent Premier League form, and interest in his signature is rife this summer as a result.
Football Insider revealed in May that Villa will do everything they can to keep hold of Rogers amid interest from Chelsea, while Mick Brown told Football Insider in June that Arsenal are keeping a close eye on Rogers’ situation.
Unai Emery is desperate to keep hold of the England winger this summer, as revealed by Football Insider on 8 July, but it is now thought to be a near certainty that Chelsea will bid to sign Rogers if any approach arrives in the opposite direction for Nicolas Jackson, and he has sent a message to Onana in the wake of those reports.
Rogers praises Onana’s musical exploits
Rogers remains a Villa player for now, and he is clearly close to his Belgian teammate Amadou Onana, who, outside of football, also makes rap music under the name 24AM.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 70 | 17 | 16 |
The 22-year-old took to his Instagram story on Saturday (12 July) to share that he was listening to Onana’s latest release, Mexique, in his car, while he captioned his picture with five fire emojis to show his praise for the midfielder’s surprise talent.
Villa may sell Rogers to ease UEFA concerns
Football Insider verdict
Much of the discourse around Villa’s summer window has been focused on their outgoings, with sales needed after they missed out on a spot in the Champions League last season on goal difference following a controversial final-day decision in their game against Man United.
Football finance expert Dan Plumley told Football Insider on Friday (11 July) that the Villans will be forced to cash in on at least one or two players to try and avoid further sanctions from UEFA this summer.
Villa were hit with a fine of €11million (£9.5m) by the governing body in early July after they were found to have a squad cost ratio above 80 per cent for 2024 and were “awarded fines proportionate to the size of the excess.”
The Second City outfit could receive a further €15m (£13m) in fines over the next three years if they continue to fail to comply with UEFA’s financial regulations, while they may also be banned from featuring in European competitions, according to football finance expert Stefan Borson, which is a risk they are surely not willing to take.
With that in mind, letting go of an asset like Rogers may well be something that the club are forced to do in the not-too-distant future amid interest from Chelsea, despite his huge impact on their fortunes over the last 18 months.
At 22-years-old he is set to command a sizeable fee of at least £50m, which would go a long way to helping ease Villa’s concerns, and so an exit could happen soon.