After completing his move to Aston Villa this week, Morgan Rogers will be hoping to waste little time in making an impact under Unai Emery.
Given our protracted pursuit of his signature last month, it became clear that the 21-year-old was a priority signing for the Villa boss, who clearly had spotted something in him that he believed could help us achieve our objectives moving forward.
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Rogers bagged seven goals and nine assists in 33 appearances for Middlesbrough this season prior to his switch, and having had the chance to see him up close in our FA Cup tie at the Riverside Stadium last month, our scouting and recruitment department evidently agreed with Emery’s assessment.
“I’m so grateful and honoured to be given this opportunity to do so,” Rogers told VillaTV after his move was made official. “Now it’s down to me to show what I’m about and why I deserve to be here.
“I had a conversation with him [Emery] briefly, getting to know him and what he’s about, his goals and the way he is as a manager. I’m looking forward to working with him because I feel like he can get the best out of me.
“With the way that the team has started this season, I want to add to that and just try to improve myself.
“I want to put myself in the best possible position to get to the top. With the manager and the players that are here and the way the club is going, it’s only going to get better.”
Given his age and ultimately the untapped potential in his game at this stage of his career, Rogers is hopefully set to be a crucial long-term solution for us in terms of adding quality and creativity in the final third on a consistent basis to help us compete on multiple fronts.
However, his first opportunity to impress could come sooner than he might have expected, as the expectation is that he’ll at least come off the bench and make his debut against Sheffield Utd this weekend.
Further, with Nicolo Zaniolo and Jhon Duran currently sidelined by injury, and as Moussa Diaby searches for form while Jacob Ramsey works his way back from injury, Emery may well look to our new attacking talent to make the difference.
Rogers has the versatility to play across the frontline, and so with little depth behind Watkins currently, the youngster could be asked to lead the line for us if necessary.
That said, Emery noted this week that he sees him as a No.8 or a No.10 with the ability to play as a striker sometimes, and so although he’ll face significant competition in those positions, Rogers will be itching to get on the pitch and open his account sooner rather than later.
Putting the Newcastle Utd defeat in midweek aside, Villa have become more solid defensively in recent weeks, but we’ve lost a clinical edge to our play in the final third and the balance has been off since December.
It’s hoped that the introduction of a fresh face into the squad will give everyone a lift and inject fresh impetus, and while our other January signings Kosta Nedeljkovic, Lino Sousa and Joe Gauci will be looking towards pre-season as their opportunity to make an impression on Emery, Rogers will hopefully hit the ground running and look right at home in the Villa XI as soon as possible.
We’ve seen that it does take players time to integrate and adapt to Emery’s demands, but having spoken so glowingly of Rogers in his assessments of him as a player, the Villa boss will hopefully be proven correct and see his new signing deliver an instant impact when called upon.
