England's Morgan Rogers set for £117million move to Chelsea after bid accepted by Aston Villa
The 23-year-old was linked to Arsenal but it is understood was convinced by Xabi Alonso to join the Blues
Morgan Rogers is set to complete a £117million move to Chelsea after the Blues reportedly had a bid accepted by Aston Villa.
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Rogers, who is currently with the England squad in Miami for their World Cup third/fourth play-off with France, is set for a medical on Monday ahead of signing a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge, with the option of a further year.
It is understood there was interest in the 23-year-old from Arsenal but that new Blues boss Xabi Alonso was instrumental in persuading him to choose west London.
Rogers has enjoyed a rapid rise at Villa Park following his move from Middlesbrough in January 2024 and helped fire Villa to a top-four finish and the Europa League last season.
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He is set to leave Villa having scored 31 times in 125 appearances under Unai Emery. Villa, who also sold Youri Tielemans to Manchester United for £35million earlier in the week, feel the fee represents a good deal.
Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali indicated towards the end of last season that the club had learned the lessons of an underwhelming campaign, in which the team finished tenth and were thrashed in the Champions League last 16 by Paris St Germain, and that they would be targeting players in the market who would be in a position to help them challenge for the title.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Alonso, a two-time Champions League winner as a player, was hired partly in order to convince the right calibre of player to move to Chelsea.
The deal for Rogers is arguably the biggest the club have pulled off since Cole Palmer moved from Manchester City in 2023 and will be a record fee for a British player.
Rogers is set to become the fourth signing of the summer as the Blues overhaul their squad, following the arrivals of defender Marco Palestra, striker Emmanuel Emegha and winger Geovany Quenda.
In June, the club failed in an attempt to reunite Alonso with Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka, with Chelsea unwilling to meet the Black Cats’ valuation of a player who will turn 34 in September.