The England international is already the subject of speculation.
The transfer window might not officially open for another fortnight but already the most inevitable story of the summer surrounding Villa is up and running.
Well, at least in newsprint. Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and Mikel Arteta’s subsequent demand for the Gunners to show more “ambition” saw them become the latest club to be linked with a move for Morgan Rogers.
They join Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and PSG, Saturday’s victors in Budapest, on the list of the 23-year-old’s reported suitors.
These are the kind of stories which seriously rankle with Villa supporters. Just a few days on from the conclusion of the club’s greatest season for decades, they already find one of their best players and one of the heroes of Istanbul the subject of speculation.
Frustrating though it may be, it is an almost unavoidable consequence of their success and those financial fair play rules which permit rivals to spend more freely while Villa must continue to tread carefully.
Though securing a return to the Champions League will allow a little more wriggle room for Unai Emery in the transfer market, it is by no means a “silver bullet” to cure all ills. For several months it has been made clear sales will again be required this summer and Rogers, with 50 goal involvements in all competitions over the past two seasons, is comfortably Villa’s most prized asset.
These are simple truths. It would be stranger if the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea et al weren’t showing a keen interest.
At times like these, however, you also have to remember the facts and for all the growing noise, at this stage, no-one has made a bid.
That’s important because at this point a year ago, many were happy to pen the obituary on Emi Martinez’s Villa career after the goalkeeper’s tearful “farewell” against Tottenham.
Yet after several weeks of talk, much of it emanating from Argentina, no-one actually came in with an offer. Manchester United, who would only go so far as taking the World Cup winner on loan, eventually looked elsewhere.
Of course, no two transfers are the same and at nearly 10 years Martinez’s junior, Rogers is naturally going to have a greater pool of admirers.
Yet unlike Martinez, he is not pushing for a move. While fiercely ambitious, he is happy at Villa, in a dressing room he recently described to the Express & Star as a “brotherhood”. He is also barely six months on from signing a six-year contract at a club where ownership, historically, has not allowed star players to leave without a fight.
The chunky 20 per cent sell-on clause held by Middlesbrough is another factor to consider.
Rogers’ importance to Villa as a team cannot be understated. While the past season might have seen its low points, no player's goals were worth more points in the Premier League, while his importance to Villa’s structure is such he is virtually undroppable. His absence from the final day win at Manchester City was the first time he had not featured for Villa in a top-flight line-up for 16 months.
Weighted against that is what selling Rogers now, perhaps even for a fee higher than the £100million received from Manchester City for Jack Grealish four years ago, might allow Villa to achieve when it comes to refreshing and strengthening their squad.
What the club will be desperate to avoid is a repeat of last year, when uncertainty over Martinez dragged on and impacted the start of the season. But with a World Cup about to begin and Rogers poised to play a key role, a swift resolution either way feels unlikely.
Like it or not, what happens, or doesn’t happen with Rogers will go a long way to defining Villa’s summer.
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