Chelsea are on the verge of completing a £117m transfer for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. The attacking midfielder has settled on personal terms for a six-year deal and is scheduled for a medical examination on Monday.
Arsenal had shown interest in Rogers and reached out to Villa earlier this month, but Chelsea have been monitoring the 23-year-old’s development for some time and have acted swiftly to secure one of Xabi Alonso’s primary targets.
This move represents a major coup for the Spanish coach, who took over at Chelsea in May. Rogers was pivotal in Villa’s run to the Champions League and their Europa League triumph last season, contributing 14 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, and he has been a vital figure for England at the World Cup. He lined up on the right flank for the semi-final loss to Argentina and set up the opening goal for Anthony Gordon.
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Chelsea are aiming to reconstruct the squad after a lacklustre campaign. They will not feature in European competition, yet Rogers is set to become their most expensive acquisition, surpassing the £115m outlay for Moisés Caicedo in 2023. The club increased its transfer funds by selling Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid and Andrey Santos to Manchester United.
Additional resources could be generated if a bid materializes for Enzo Fernández, who is seeking an exit. Madrid retain an interest in the Argentina midfielder, and it is understood Chelsea are keeping tabs on Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton. The London side are also pursuing a deal for Palace defender Maxence Lacroix.
Villa plan to channel the proceeds from Rogers’ sale back into their squad. They had acquired him from Middlesbrough in January 2024 for an initial £7m plus £8m in add-ons, and he has since become the most expensive English player, the fee eclipsing the £116m Manchester City have paid to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
Villa have offloaded Youri Tielemans to United and are expected to finalize a transfer for Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain.
Roma have submitted a £39m proposal to West Ham for Crysencio Summerville. The Netherlands winger has drawn interest from United, Chelsea, Villa and Fulham. It is unclear whether the bid will meet West Ham’s expectations, with the club receiving a lift after Jarrod Bowen pledged his future to the team following their relegation to the Championship.
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