Just weeks after Manchester City smashed the British transfer record to sign Elliot Anderson, Chelsea are now signing Morgan Rogers for an even higher fee.
On Saturday, it was reported that Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, and will fork out a staggering £117 million.
💰 Man City agree a deal for Elliot Anderson – and it’s a new club-record signing! But is he really worth the money?
This is just slightly more than the £116 million City paid to sign Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
It’s a spectacular sale for Villa, who picked Rogers up from Middlesbrough for an initial £8 million rising to £15 million.
As most people know, Rogers had a four-year stint in Manchester City’s academy, after the club picked him up from West Bromwich Albion, where he had spent about nine years.
The club included a sell-on clause of about 25% when they sold him to Villa. But that clause only applied to that move, so the club unfortunately won’t benefit from this massive £117 million move to Chelsea, unlike Middlesbrough.
Why Morgan Rogers actually left Man City
Rogers has had a very exciting rise over the last few years.
After leaving Boro, he slowly became one of Villa’s top players, scoring 31 goals and making 29 assists in 125 appearances.
But he perhaps would never have become the player he is today without the education and development he received at City.
But why did Rogers actually ever leave the Etihad?
In an interview with TNT Sports a couple of years ago, Rogers stated he simply wasn’t at the level required to make the step up to the first-team.
He admitted: “I didn’t quite get to that level to take that step there, but it helped me take that step somewhere else. And those valuable experiences helped me become the player I am.
| Morgan Rogers for Man City U18s | Morgan Rogers for Man City U21s |
| Appearances – 14 | Appearances – 7 |
| Goals – 5 | Goals – 1 |
| Assists – 3 | Assists – 1 |
“There’s a load of incredible quality and talent there. So to stick out as one is very hard and only a few have done that.
“It’s good for a learning experience, and that’s what I used it as: to soak up information, to play around players, and to say that I’ve got to play and train with some of the best players in the world is something that could never be taken away from me.”
Former City manager Pep Guardiola also previously shed some light on the decision to let Rogers move on.
He said in 2024 (via Metro): “Of course, everyone knows how good Morgan is. A lot of players went on loan or have been sold.
“But he was in that age, that moment, we had the players that we had that allowed us to create the most successful years in the history of our club.
“In that moment, sometimes when they arrive they are two, three years younger and at that moment there is Kevin (De Bruyne) in his prime, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling and sometimes it’s difficult. That’s the only reason why.”
It is a slight shame to see Rogers become as good as he has, with City not benefiting in any way from his latest move.
But it is understandable why he couldn’t break through at the time, and his time at Chelsea – which will see him link up with another former City talent Cole Palmer – will be very interesting to watch unfold.
