Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough, with the deal reported to be worth £15m in total.
The 21-year-old has had a positive season to date, scoring seven goals and providing nine assists in 33 appearances for the Championship side.
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His form caught the eye of Villa’s scouting and recruitment staff, and Unai Emery himself was able to take a closer look at the talented youngster in our FA Cup tie against Boro last month.
He’ll now bolster our attacking options, as the club have confirmed that he’s completed his move to join us, and we’ll hope to see him make his debut at Sheffield Utd this weekend as we look to get back on track after a recent slump in form.
While Villa haven’t shared details of the agreement, The Athletic have reported that we’ll pay an initial £8m fee for Rogers, plus £7m in potential add-ons, thus taking the total fee to around £15m.
It’s added that he’ll sign a contract until 2029, and so hopefully he’ll prove to be a key figure for us both in the short-term and long-term future.
Given Villa had three reported bids rejected before finally reaching an agreement with Middlesbrough, it was clear that he was a priority target for Emery this month, and so the Spanish tactician will be delighted to have the move secured.
The Villa boss was asked about Rogers after our defeat to Newcastle Utd on Tuesday night, and he will no doubt relish the opportunity and challenge to help him improve and develop his game to become an integral figure for us and to reach the top level.
“We analyse him and we follow him with a scout and as well when we played against Middlesbrough,” he told TNT Sports, as per BBC Sport.
“I think he is a potential young player and hopefully tomorrow we can sign him and he can start his new chapter here. We are motivated and excited to work with him and hopefully he can progress here like we think he will do.”
Rogers will face a battle to gain a starting berth though given the options already available to Emery, but with Villa looking to continue to compete on multiple fronts, we’ll need that quality and depth to ensure we can challenge through to the end of this season and beyond.
