Aston Villa's dream £63m Morgan Rogers transfer replacement is obvious if Chelsea or Liverpool snatch gem

Chelsea have joined Liverpool in the race to sign in-demand Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers in the upcoming transfer window.

Team Talk suggest both Enzo Maresca and Arne Slot have been hugely impressed by the performances of the former Middlesbrough man, who has found the net 14 times while contributing 13 assists across all competitions this season to help Villa to a Champions League quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final in a year which could still end in European qualification.

Mail Sport claim Aston Villa are in a position where they may need to sell at least one significant player before 30 June to ensure they stay in line with Premier League spending rules.

However, it’s widely reported that Villa do not want to lose Rogers due to the contribution he has made to the team this season. The 22-year-old is enjoying the best season of his career to date and is thought to be a pivotal part of Unai Emery’s plans in years to come.

Chelsea and Liverpool target Morgan Rogers

TEAMtalk seem certain that Chelsea and Liverpool are the two leading contenders to sign Morgan Rogers in the summer window. The outlet explains Villa have placed a £90m price tag on the England international, who arrived for just £15m from Teesside in February 2024.

It is understood that Rogers is not seeking a move away from the West Midlands at this stage and is thought to be happy in his surroundings. However, the report in question does state that Rogers is ambitious and open to a move away from the club if the opportunity was to present itself.

Chelsea boss Maresca knows plenty about Rogers, having worked with him as his coach at the Manchester City academy and is thought to be a big fan. Although it’s not clear how he’d fit Cole Palmer and Rogers into the team at the same time. He fits Chelsea’s approach of signing a player at a young age with a high ceiling and potentially a long-term contract.

Meanwhile, Liverpool could look to add further firepower to their front line amid speculation surrounding the potential sales of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz in the summer.

How should Aston Villa replace Morgan Rogers?

Aston Villa are likely to do everything in their power to keep Morgan Rogers at the club this summer, but PSR regulations as shown in the past with Jhon Duran and Douglas Luiz could make things tricky for the Villa Park club.

If Villa were to obtain £90m for Rogers it’s likely they would try and use the funds to acquire a player with similar attributes such as the versatility to play as a central attacking midfielder and a winger while also moving for someone with the traits of scoring goals, running at defenders and creating chances for teammates.

This could in turn put the wheels in motion for the potential pursuit of Matheus Cunha. The Brazil international is heavily linked with a move to Manchester United but is admired by Aston Villa, according to reports from Guardian Sport. Cunha has scored 17 goals and six assists in 33 games across all competitions for Wolves this season and is blessed with great dribbling ability and goal-scoring prowess.

He recently signed a contract extension at Wolves until 2029 but has a release clause of around £63m which means if Villa were to sell Rogers for £90m they’d still have a profit of around £27m if they were to purchase Cunha to replace him.

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