Morgan Rogers has been told he can become one of the best in the world by the man he accidentally replaced at Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past two years as his club manager Unai Emery struggles to retain his top player.
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But that’s no surprise to two of his former team-mates, who raved about Rogers while speaking to The Pitch Prospect.com at Udinese’s international media days.
Jordan Zemura linked up with the attacking midfielder on the second of his three loan spells at Manchester City.
Rogers joined Zemura at Bournemouth in August 2021, but returned to the Etihad five months later after just one start in the Championship.
“He was young though,” said Udinese star Zemura as he defended the 12-time England international. “Morgan was about 19 at the time.
“But the finish was incredible, like left foot, right foot.”
“I’ve always said he has a crazy catalog of finishing prowess, whether it’s smashing or finishing.
“But as soon as it clicked, like I just knew, ‘You’re going to do it, man!'”
Rogers secured a permanent move to the Championship with Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough from Man City in July 2023 for a paltry £1.1m.
A month later, his future club Villa celebrated a similar coup by signing Nicolo Zaniolo from Galatasaray.
Their futures became closely linked that winter when the Italian fell out of favor under Emery as Rogers was given a purple patch.
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Rogers can become “one of the best in the world.”
Rogers recorded two assists and scored one goal in the four games leading up to Boro’s 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa in January 2024.
He impressed in that encounter and helped convince Emery to make a move in his next two Championship games.
Zaniolo told The Pitch Prospect: “I remember we played them in the FA Cup and Morgan was playing at Middlesbrough.”
“He was a great player back then and when I see him training with me, I understand that quality from the first moment I see him.”
“I think he is one of the best players in England at the moment and if he keeps it up he can become one of the best in the world.”
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Rogers was the first Englishman Emery had signed in his 20-year career in the dugout at Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and in Spain, despite spending more than €1 billion on over 150 players.
His success was such that the likes of Ross Barkley, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Harvey Elliott, Cameron Archer, Jaden Philogene and Tammy Abraham have since followed him to Villa.
The latter also played with Zaniolo in Italy, who argued that England’s attacking depth, which allowed them to omit Abraham and Ollie Watkins from Tuchel’s recent squad, was one of the reasons why the Three Lions are among the World Cup favorites this summer.
“England have a very, very, very strong team,” Udinese’s number 10 added to The Pitch Prospect. “You have the front, [Jude] Bellingham, they did [Harry] Kane, [Bukayo] Saka, [Phil] Foden.
“I think in the World Cup, one of the favorites to play is to win the World Cup, yes.”
“Thomas Tuchel is a world-class coach and the quality in England is so high too and I think if they show their quality they can be one of the best teams in the world at the moment.”
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Rogers transfer at the latest
Rogers, who has eight goals and five assists in the Premier League this season, can see his value skyrocket at the World Cup.
The attacking midfielder only signed a new six-year contract with Villa Park in November.
However, The Pitch Prospect understands several top clubs are still very interested in signing himalthough Villa north of there will probably inquire They sold Jack Grealish for £100 million in 2021.
The Pitch Prospect’s Alex Crook And Gabby Agbonlahor recently claimed Villa must qualify for the Champions League or risk losing Rogers.
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“Well, ironically, Chelsea are one of the clubs that are very interested in Morgan Rogers,” Crooky told White & Jordan earlier this month.
“I wrote an article on the The Pitch Prospect website which was also about Liverpool because they played under Richard Hughes, their sporting director at Bournemouth.
“And I know Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor fears that if they don’t get into the Champions League, not only will Unai Emery be eliminated, but they could also lose Morgan Rogers.”
“If the latter were to happen then I think you are talking about a transfer fee higher than what Aston Villa got for Jack Grealish.”
“I think they would want more than £100 million.”