Thomas Tuchel gives Aston Villa clear hint on how best to use Morgan Rogers after season-best 8/10 display
Morgan Rogers was back to his exceptional best in England’s 3-0 victory over Wales
England manager Thomas Tuchel has shared his thoughts on where Morgan Rogers is best suited on the pitch after his side’s impressive 3-0 victory over rivals Wales in Thursday’s international friendly.
The Three Lions, who struggled to hit the ground running under the German until September’s international break, continued where they left off when beating Serbia 5-0 by storming into a three goal advantage over Craig Bellamy’s men in the opening 20 minutes. Aston Villa playmaker Rogers opened the scoring after just three minutes by turning in an excellent Marc Guehi cross and continued to pose a huge threat throughout as teammate Ollie Watkins capitalised on a rare start by doubling the lead from close range eight minutes later.
The victory was topped off by a superb strike by Bukayo Saka but the main talking point from the perspective of Aston Villa supporters was just how well Rogers played in the game after his early season struggles. He could have easily had a brace after hitting the woodwork later in the match. He was judged by BBC Sport viewers to be second best player on the field with a rating of 7.35 while our sister outlet’s writers at 3AddedMinutes went a step further by giving him a rating of 8/10, with only two players on the pitch receiving a higher rating. “His pace and power caused issues for the Wales back-line. It has been a tough start to this term for him at Villa Park so the confidence boost should do him good,” said writer Harry Mail.
Thomas Tuchel shares his thoughts on Morgan Rogers’ best position
Morgan Rogers joined Aston Villa for an initial £8m in February 2024 and has already proven himself to be a significant coup. In his first few months, the former Middlesbrough gem helped Villa achieve Champions League qualification for the first time since 1983 and in his first full campaign he took his game to a whole new level, reaching double figures for goals and assists across all competitions.
Rogers is a player with great tactical flexibility and the ability to play in numerous attacking roles. He’s at times been utilised as a left-winger at other times been used on the right and even had spells as a No.10 in a central attacking midfield role.
But Thomas Tuchel says at this moment he has no trouble defining where he sees Rogers’ best role on the pitch. He explained in his post match interview: “He is a number 10.”
Can Morgan Rogers rediscover his best form?
Morgan Rogers managed 14 goals and 16 assists across all competitions last season - meaning he was involved in 30 of the 94 goals the club scored across all the entirety of last season. However, he came under the fire for a number of under par performances earlier in this campaign after failing to impact matches while also struggling to press with the required intensity. The most notable lowlight came in a victory over Bologna where he was subjected to sarcastic cheers for successfully completing a pass after squandering possession on six occasions while also losing nine of his 13 ground duels in that particular contest.
Rogers started the campaign as a left-winger, moved into the central role and has most recently been deployed on the right and has picked up assists in both of his last two matches. Ultimately, Villa fans will be desperate to see more from Rogers, but will be encouraged by his recent turnaround in October where he has looked much more like his normal self in terms of confidence and presence on the pitch.
Birmingham World understands despite interest from Tottenham and Chelsea over the summer, Unai Emery is working to extend Rogers’ contract with the club.