As he headed for the dressing room following Middlesbrough‘s 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa, Morgan Rogers started to suspect something was afoot.
Even though it is a global industry worth billions of pounds, football remains a small world. It is difficult for those who work in the game to keep secrets from their peers and sure enough, snippets of information from Unai Emery‘s analysis meetings ahead of the FA Cup third-round tie in January 2024 soon found their way to Rogers.
‘He kept mentioning you,’ was the word from Rogers’ opponents in the Villa side that day. ‘He really seems to rate you.’ As flattered as Rogers was, he was also a little surprised.
Rogers had not been an automatic starter in the Championship for Michael Carrick’s team and before joining Boro from Manchester City in summer 2023, he had spent time on loan with Lincoln, Blackpool and Bournemouth. While Rogers was clearly talented, there was little in those stints to suggest he would become a £100million player.
Emery saw it differently and the £8.5m deal to bring Rogers to Villa Park soon after that clash at the Riverside Stadium is one of the best of recent times. After a breakout season in the Premier League, Rogers was on Tuesday deservedly named PFA Young Player of the Year. The future looks extremely bright.
Rogers’ agent Sam Kohansal, of Footwork Management, attended the ceremony with him and is excited for what the 23-year-old can achieve next. ‘Morgan deserves this,’ he said. ‘He has an incredible work ethic and is a true professional. As he matures, he is becoming more of a leader, too.
Morgan Rogers caught the eye of Unai Emery when Aston Villa faced Middlesbrough in the FA Cup
The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign for the Midlands club and would command a large fee to sign
The midfielder also spent time on loan in League One with Lincoln City during the 2020-2021 season
‘This is a big year for him at club level and also for England, with the World Cup next summer. We are all looking forward to seeing what he can do.’
As Rogers’ performances have improved, so the interest from rivals has grown. England’s leading clubs have been keen this summer but have so far declined to bid, given Villa’s absolute insistence that he will not be sold. Next summer may look different, even though the club are likely to offer Rogers a new deal that will push him closer to their top pay bracket.
Oliver Dehnhardt was part of the Ajax recruitment department when the Dutch giants were tracking Chuba Akpom, Rogers’ team-mate during his spell at Middlesbrough. With his capacity to play on the half-turn, Rogers intrigued Dehnhardt, who is now head of football strategy at worldwide scouting platform Eyeball, and he has followed him closely ever since.
‘He is everything that is right about British football,’ Dehnhardt told Mail Sport. ‘He wins his share of defensive duels as well as attacking duels. It’s a joy to watch for a scout.
‘Going from the Championship to the Premier League, he seems to have sharpened up. The better the players around him, the better he seems to become. It was about whether he could improve his passing in forward areas and I feel he has done that.
‘He attacks the penalty box with the ball at his feet – that means fouls, penalties, a completely different set of problems for a defending team. He reminds me of Paul Pogba when he was at Juventus, or Yaya Toure at Manchester City under Roberto Mancini, when he used to move from the No6 to the No10 position later in a game.
‘I think he can play in one of the top clubs like Bayern Munich or Liverpool and he can be as decisive as Jude Bellingham for club and country. In fact, I could see them playing very well together for England.’
Becoming a champion is, however, not only about delivering on the pitch. It is about turning up on time for every training session.
The Englishman has drawn comparisons to Yaya Toure during his time in the Premier League with Manchester City
Rogers’ physical dominance and ability to drive with the ball bears some similarities to Jude Bellingham
Rogers with his PFA Young Player of the Year award as he scooped the prestigious prize
Doing the necessary gym work before and afterwards. Eating correctly and sleeping properly. As Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers once reflected during his time at Leicester: ‘Being a top player can be a bit boring.’
Emery will not tolerate players who try to cut corners and, in that respect, it felt significant that Rogers was the one constant in numerous attacking combinations last season. The Villa boss still demands continual improvement and holds regular meetings with Rogers to ensure he builds on what he has achieved. The exciting aspect is that he still has so much room for improvement.
When Emery tries to instil new concepts, Rogers is a willing learner, as Michael Appleton knows well. Current Shrewsbury boss Appleton was in charge of Lincoln when the 18-year-old Rogers joined the League One club on loan from City in January 2021. At the time, Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson was also on a short-term deal with the Imps.
‘When we were preparing defensive set pieces, Morgan would ask to mark the biggest players in the opposition,’ Appleton recalled to Mail Sport. ‘And when he had the ball, didn’t mind contact or close marking.
‘He wanted to learn and would ask questions in meetings. He turned up at Lincoln after his City experience saying ‘I just want to play football.
‘He was able to control the ball on his back foot and that would allow him to play forward quickly. He was quiet and shy and perhaps he got lost in the system a bit at City – but he always had an inner belief in his own ability.’
Happily for Rogers, Emery shares that opinion. The Villa boss believes versatility is one of the most important qualities in modern football and Rogers’ flexibility caught his eye at once.
Using video clips on his laptop, Emery has spent hours with Rogers explaining the tactical requirements of the wide attackers, the No10 and the No9 in his system. The Basque has worked with some of the world’s finest forwards and has been struck by how quickly Rogers absorbs his instructions – when to drop, when to press, when to stay wide, when to move inside. Rogers continues to meet Emery’s demands relatively comfortably and the coaches are happy with his physical output. His England call-up last season felt overdue – as Emery pointed out nearly a year ago when Rogers was chosen for the Under-21s.
Rogers has remained a constant in the side under Emery, who demands a lot of his players
‘What is a player like Morgan Rogers gaining by playing for the U21s?’ Emery demanded last August. ‘If they had called him for the senior team, I could understand it. Morgan Rogers is a reality now and he is confirming it.’
Premier League defenders who have marked Rogers will confirm Emery called that one right. This season his profile will rise again and opponents will redouble their efforts to stop him, Everything we have seen so far suggests Rogers will rise to the challenge.