Chelsea have decided to “reach out” to the agents of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers ahead of a planned bid later in the summer, according to reports.
Writing on his Substack, reporter Simon Phillips says the Blues are hoping that the connections of co-director of recruitment and talent Joe Shields, as well as the presence of other ex-Manchester City players, will help to persuade the 22-year-old to make the switch to Stamford Bridge.
Rogers is known to be on the radar of several other clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, in addition to his former team City.
However, it appears that Chelsea are looking to get the jump on their rivals by getting the approval of the player first.
Aston Villa won’t allow Rogers to leave on the cheap
Depending on what report you read, the England international has a valuation between £80m and £100m, with his club said to be reluctant sellers.
Most Read on Chelsea News
However, the Villans’ failure to qualify for the Champions League means they have to sacrifice one or two players to ensure they comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
For that reason, Chelsea and other interested teams believe that Rogers could be sold for the right price.
Chelsea are hoping to make room for a new attacking midfielder
Rogers can play in several different positions. Some have touted him as an option to strengthen Enzo Maresca’s options on the left flank but the club’s pursuit of Jamie Gittens means he is unlikely to be needed for that position.
In any case, the Villa star plays his best football as a No.10. There will be some space for him to play in that role, with the club hoping to offload Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix. The former is attracting interest from Bayern Munich while the latter could join Benfica.
In other news, we have compared Chelsea target Jamie Gittens with Alejandro Garnacho and Rodrygo using data