Among the many positives from our 3-2 win over Luton Town, Aston Villa youngster Morgan Rogers showed promising signs in his first significant run out in the Premier League.
After a lengthy January pursuit, Unai Emery eventually landed the signature of his priority transfer target, with the 21-year-old added to a burgeoning group of attacking options at the Spaniard’s disposal.
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Having seen many other players need time to adapt and adjust to the tactical, physical and collective demands from the Villa boss before showing their best form, there is undoubtedly a sense of patience with Rogers in terms of allowing him to settle and gradually show his quality for us.
Competition for places and the fact that we’re now down to two competitions this season will likely limit his involvement for the time being, but in the event of injuries and suspensions, opportunities will likely open up for him to make his mark and show why Emery was so keen to bring him in.
An unfortunate setback for Jacob Ramsey just 29 minutes into our win over Luton provided such a chance for Rogers to come on and impress, and the youngster certainly did that.
Rogers ended the game with an 86 percent passing accuracy, 100 percent successful dribbles, 100 percent accurate long balls, two chances created, five defensive actions and 100 percent of his aerial duels won.
Further, he came agonisingly close to getting off the mark in a Villa shirt as he saw a brilliant effort from distance well saved, but beyond the individual statistics and impression, perhaps the most promising aspect of his outing was that he looked a good fit in the side in Emery’s style and structure.
His ability to break forward, spot the right pass, be positive in his actions and put in the hard work to help the team in both phases of the game all suggest that he has the ability to be a top signing for us, and Emery was pleased with what he saw from him this weekend.
Additionally, despite the decision to replace him in the latter stages having come on as a substitute himself, there was no negativity around it from Rogers, who showed maturity and composure to understand it was what the team needed. Of course, he’ll likely be frustrated that he couldn’t do more, but at this stage of his career and with Emery knowing what’s best for him, he’ll know there is sound reasoning behind his decisions.
“His adaptation is going ahead,” Emery said of Rogers after the game. “Today he had minutes, taking experiences with us. I decided (to take him off) because he played more than 45 minutes. He did very good work, but I decided to change him for tactical reasons.”
It’s hoped that Ramsey hasn’t suffered a significant setback and that he’ll be available in the coming weeks as we head into the business end of the campaign.
However, if it is bad news for the Villa ace, Rogers will have the chance to step in and step up for us, and if the early signs are anything to go by, we’ll hopefully see him flourish.