Chelsea thought they had little chance of signing Morgan Rogers at the start of the summer. Xabi Alonso and the club’s recruitment team had the England international as a priority target but a deal seemed unlikely. Chelsea had endured a disappointing season, missing out on European football after finishing 10th, and their expectation was that Rogers would leave Aston Villa for Arsenal.
It was towards the end of the World Cup that Chelsea were made aware of a window of opportunity. Although Arsenal could claim to be London’s top dogs after winning the Premier League they dithered in talks with Villa, raising the prospect of another club stepping in. Mikel Arteta talked about being bold in the market after Arsenal’s defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
Arteta wanted more in attack. A new option on the left was a priority; Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli were up for sale and everything pointed towards Arsenal making their move for Rogers at the end of June. Yet the lines became blurred.
Arsenal had a fee of £80m in mind, while Villa wanted more, particularly after Nottingham Forest sold Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for £116m. How serious were Arsenal? There was also interest in Julián Alvarez, Vinícius Júnior and Bradley Barcola.
Villa waited and the price for Rogers went up. Arsenal, beaten to the punch in the end, will have a look at what they could have won when Chelsea and Rogers visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. They were tracking Rogers before he left Middlesbrough for Villa in February 2024.
Joe Shields, one of Chelsea’s five sporting directors, worked with Rogers at Manchester City’s academy. The signing was not done on a whim. Chelsea have a good relationship with Villa’s owners and moved quickly after opening club-to-club talks a day after Rogers played in England’s World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina.
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