Arsenal are among several Premier League teams who have made “enquiries” about signing Aston Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers, according to reports.
TBRFootball claim the Gunners and Chelsea have formally registered their interest in the England international over the past few weeks.
Liverpool and Manchester City are also believed to be keeping close tabs on Rogers, who had an impressive season for the Villans.
The 22-year-old scored 14 goals and provided 15 assists in 54 appearances, which is the best return of his senior career so far.
Rogers will not be made available on the cheap
TBRFootball report that the player won’t be sold unless a club is prepared to exceed the highest transfer fee that Villa have received.
The record currently stands at £100m, which is the amount the Midlands club received from Manchester City in the summer of 2021 when they triggered the release clause in Jack Grealish’s contract.
Arsenal are looking at alternatives
Villa are in a tricky situation financially. After failing to qualify for the Champions League, they are in danger of breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules, and that shortfall in their budget could lead to them selling players for below market value before the end of this month.
However, it remains to be seen whether they are willing to let Rogers go for a discounted price. Even if that were to happen, though, the Gunners would face fierce opposition from other teams to secure his signature.
For that reason, Mikel Arteta’s side are said to have identified alternatives. Feyenoord’s Igor Paixao (who made 37 goal contributions last season), Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams are the other names reportedly being considered by the recruitment team.
