Next Premier League Record: Morgan Rogers’ upcoming transfer to Chelsea FC has consequences—including for Aston Villa and its new signing, Johan Manzambi. And for defending champion Arsenal FC, which once again comes up empty-handed.
The buzz surrounding the Premier League’s record transfer for an English player hasn’t quite died down yet, and already there’s another bombshell: Following Elliot Anderson’s €135 million move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City, the next Three Lions national team player is now joining a new club: Chelsea FC is reportedly set to pay the equivalent of €137 million in transfer fees to bring Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa to London.
Chelsea Instead of the Champions League
This Monday, shortly after the Three Lions return from overseas, the 23-year-old—who set up the 1-0 goal against Argentina in the semifinals before things took a turn for the worse from England’s perspective—is expected to undergo a medical at the training center in Cobham. Afterward, the move to the capital is expected to be announced—but not to champions Arsenal, whose 90-million offer was clearly outbid, but to Chelsea. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Arsenal and Villa are both playing in the Champions League, while Chelsea is not competing internationally at all.
Consequently, there must have been other compelling reasons for Rogers—besides presumably financial ones—such as the prospects in midfield and, above all, Xabi Alonso as coach and the undisputed driving force at Stamford Bridge. At Arsenal—which had already come up short in the race for Sandro Tonali (now at Tottenham)—the midfield is stacked with Declan Rice, Martin Ödegaard, and other top-tier players; at Chelsea, not only is Cole Palmer’s departure looming (possibly a return to Manchester City), but so is that of Enzo Fernández.
Rogers is set to step into this vacuum as an immediate solution, especially since Xabi Alonso ultimately convinced the Chelsea bosses with his vote to approve the transfer fee and the move. However, this raises the question of how the move is even permitted, given that the Blues are subject to strict restrictions after once again being penalized by the FA—which is cracking down on Financial Fair Play—for past irregularities.
But the FA also allows loopholes, which Chelsea is once again exploiting; because of Rogers’ extremely long contract term—six years, with an option to extend to seven—the trick of spreading out the amortization of this transfer over a longer period comes into play once again—at least over five years of the contract term. Added to this are the certain sales of Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid and Andrey Santos to Manchester United—both together for more than 110 million euros—as well as the potential sales of Palmer and Fernandez.
What kind of player is the reigning Club World Champion getting in Rogers? Last season, he scored 14 goals and recorded 12 assists across all competitions and was also named Europa League Player of the Season. He won that competition with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg in the final.
At the World Cup, many had expected him—who can play as a number 10 or on the wing—to be in the starting lineup, but England’s coach Thomas Tuchel mostly opted for Jude Bellingham, a decision that ultimately proved to be a very good one. However, the fact that Rogers could even be considered a serious competitor to the former Dortmund player says a lot about him.
Rogers isn’t the only one leaving a void
Rogers isn’t the only key loss for Villa. Coach Unai Emery led the club to three consecutive top-six finishes and a Europa League title. But now he must carry out a major overhaul, as Rogers’ departure follows the sale of Youri Tielemans to Manchester United.
Midfield anchor Amadou Onana will miss at least the first half of the season after the Belgian suffered a serious knee injury during the World Cup. The first steps toward putting together a new puzzle at Villa Park were the signings of relegated Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes and, most notably, Swiss player Johan Manzambi.
Villa is paying SC Freiburg a club-record fee of up to 68 million euros and, in the process, snatched him away from Newcastle right under their noses. Emery believes Manzambi, thanks to his class and tactical flexibility, is equipped to fill both gaps left by Tielemans and Rogers. If Emery had any doubts about Manzambi’s potential, the player was able to dispel them in the Europa League as well.
