Thomas Frank praises Tottenham Hotspur target Morgan Rogers’ performance in 2-1 Aston Villa defeat
There were moments of incredible quality during the Tottenham Hotspur-Aston Villa game on Sunday.
Spurs were coming into the game on the back of a 2-1 away win over Leeds United, while Aston Villa had won four of the last five games in all competitions. Thus, both teams knew the challenges that they were about to face in north London.
Tottenham had the best start as Rodrigo Bentancur gave them the lead five minutes into the contest. But, Morgan Rogers levelled the scores before half-time. Emi Buendia came off the bench for Aston Villa in the second half and scored the winner. The Englishman demonstrated exactly why he’s one of the division’s best attacking midfielders with a spectacular strike in Villa’s 2-1 win over Tottenham.
Morgan Rogers endured a slow start to the season. After five games without any output, the 23-year-old assisted during Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Fulham in September, and then grabbed another in the 2-1 victory over Burnley at Villa Park.
Thomas Frank praises Tottenham Hotspur target Morgan Rogers' performance in 2-1 Aston Villa defeat.
Tottenham target Morgan Rogers is starting to regain his touch
Thomas Frank praises Tottenham target
Tottenham were interested in signing Morgan Rogers as a replacement for the injured James Maddison. Aston Villa were reluctant to sell the England international in the summer, forcing Spurs to seek an alternative. Eventually, they managed to land Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig. Yet, Spurs have continued to monitor Rogers’ progress.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Frank praised Rogers for scoring the equaliser against Tottenham. He said:
“If you said to me before the game, ‘they will shoot from there, Rogers and Buendia’, from that situation, I would say, ‘of course, it’s not dangerous’, but fantastic quality shot from Rogers.
“In those very little moments, they had more quality in the end.”
Thomas Frank praises Tottenham Hotspur target Morgan Rogers' performance in 2-1 Aston Villa defeat.
Tottenham are intent on signing a left-footed centre-back as a back-up for Micky van de Ven.
Should Tottenham pursue Rogers in January?
The latest £100m investment into the club from the Lewis family might come in handy for attracting new players to N17 in the coming months, as the cash injection would give Spurs leverage over other clubs for potential transfers. One of the main priorities for Frank would be to sign a new No.10 when the transfer window reopens in January.
Tottenham have retained their interest in Rogers after being denied the chance to land him in the summer by Villa. Creative, energetic, ball-progressor and a fine finisher, Rogers is seen as an ideal fit for Frank’s system and a potential long-term successor to Maddison. After a tough opening months of the season, the England international looked back to his sublime best against Spurs. With his movement, link up play, dynamism and ball-striking ability, he reminded everyone of his quality on Sunday.
Unsurprisingly, the Villans are desperate to keep the 23-year-old amid growing interest. The Midlands outfit have set an eye-watering £80 million price tag to ward off potential suitors. While a January transfer appears unlikely, a possible summer move to Spurs cannot be ruled out.