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Chelsea sign £117m Rogers - what will he bring
Chelsea sign £117m Rogers - what will he bring?
Chelsea have completed the signing of England midfielder Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for a British record transfer fee of £117m.
On Monday, Rogers returned from the United States, having featured for England at the World Cup, to undergo a medical in London and sign a six-year contract with an option for a further year.
"I'm joining the biggest club in London," he said in his announcement video.
The way the club wants to go and how it wants to move forward is something I want to be a part of. I think it was just perfect for me. I just can't wait to get going.
The move comes as a genuine transfer window shock - so how did they do it and what does it mean for the rest of the squad?
It had been widely expected that Rogers, who was Villa's most prized asset, would be available only for an English transfer record fee, but many expected Arsenal to be the frontrunners.
However, Chelsea had been tracking Rogers for more than two years and had quietly made him their top attacking target. They moved quickly after England's semi-final defeat by Argentina last Wednesday out of his desire to focus on the World Cup.
On Thursday, after the 2-1 loss, a combined effort involving the club's sporting directors, head coach Xabi Alonso and co-owner Behdad Eghbali helped secure a deal. Even Chelsea captain Reece James was making the club's case from within the England camp, while those close to the negotiations say Cole Palmer was also aware of developments as, in Rogers' words, "one of my best friends in life".
It was a well-planned operation involving figures across the club and resulted in Rogers being signed in under 48 hours.
The deal was underpinned by the strong relationship between Chelsea co-owner Eghbali and Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris, with the agreement being finalised on Saturday afternoon, shortly before Rogers took to the field in England's bronze-medal victory over France.
After the deal was agreed, Arsenal were offered the chance to match the bid but they informed Villa they were committed to their lower valuation and were willing to let him join Chelsea on those terms.
They will now consider alternative targets, including Paris St-Germain's Bradley Barcola and Bournemouth's Junior Kroupi.
Although Chelsea had tracked Rogers for more than two years, the clubs had previously discussed a potential deal during the 'Profit and Sustainability swaps' of 2024.
One option explored was Nicolas Jackson reuniting with his former Villarreal manager Unai Emery, before Ian Maatsen moved to Villa Park and Omari Kellyman joined Chelsea.
Yet Chelsea's move also represents a recalibration of their transfer tactics.
In April and his last interview, Eghbali accepted Chelsea needed "to add more ready-made players at this part of the project, to take [it] to the next level, to be consistent over time," adding: "You tweak a model, you improve, you learn from mistakes."
Rogers' friendship with his new club-mate Palmer goes back a long way - and actually inspired the latter's famous 'cold' goal celebration.
Palmer first performed it in December 2023 after scoring two goals in a 3-2 win at Luton.
He has since taken ownership of the celebration, registering a trademark for it with the UK Intellectual Property Office.
However, it was first meant as a tribute to Rogers as he performed the celebration after a goal for Middlesbrough against West Brom.
It was after moving from his local club West Brom to Manchester City that Rogers first struck up a friendship with Palmer. Both were 16 and soon starred in attack for City's FA Youth Cup-winning under-18 side in 2020.
Palmer is not the only familiar face Rogers will encounter at Stamford Bridge. He already knows Levi Colwill and Reece James through the England set-up, while Tosin Adarabioyo, Jamie Gittens, Romeo Lavia and Liam Delap all came through City's academy system.
That English contingent forms a substantial part of the club's leadership group, alongside Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
There is, however, the more important issue of football and where Rogers fits into the team, especially given Palmer is a similar type of player.
Rogers was among the players selected by England manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of Palmer for this summer's World Cup, but their versatility means they can play either together or in each other's position.
One source suggests Rogers will primarily play on the left, with Palmer operating centrally as a number 10. That would leave Estevao Willian, Pedro Neto and new signing Geovany Quenda competing for places on the right and Jamie Gittens as his understudy.
Chelsea are likely to use a back four at times next season, but they are also exploring a back-three system, which Alonso used to devastating effect when winning the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024.
That could allow Palmer and Rogers to play together as dual number 10s, while wingers would be asked to operate in deeper wing-back roles.
Chelsea had a number of problems last season, one of which was a five-game goalless run under former head coach Liam Rosenior, which led to his sacking.
Rogers contributed 14 goals and 12 assists in 55 appearances last season and would add further firepower.
Looking at the wider squad, and assuming winger Alejandro Garnacho is sold as planned, Chelsea would have six attackers competing for three forward positions in a season without European football. In addition, they have five senior strikers - Joao Pedro, Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap, Emmanuel Emegha and Marc Guiu - on the books.
It is clear that the squad needs trimming after last season's 10th-place finish, particularly given Chelsea can only play a maximum of 51 matches if they reach both domestic cup finals.
It's not just about keeping players happy - Chelsea must also sell players to keep the books balanced.
The £117m fee represents a substantial outlay on top of the £47m spent to sign full-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta, as well as the potential arrivals of defenders Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano and Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace.
In addition, midfielder Valentin Barco is expected to join from Strasbourg, though Chelsea have yet to confirm the deal.
It took a league-record £300m in player sales last season for Chelsea to comply with the Premier League's financial rules, which are set to move from a Financial Fair Play-based system to a squad cost ratio model this summer.
Uefa, however, represents the biggest obstacle to Chelsea's continued spending after fining the club £26.7m for breaching its rules last summer, while Villa were also fined and are under the same scrutiny, which led to Rogers' sale.
Chelsea were again found to have breached European football's governing body's regulations this summer, but the financial picture improved significantly, resulting in a fine of just £2.6m. Most of that amount will be waived if the club continues to improve its finances.
With five new signings expected this summer, Chelsea will want to sell or loan out at least a dozen players from the 37 senior options on their books, and for as much money as possible, to keep their accounts healthy.
They have already sold Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid, Andrey Santos to Manchester United, Tyrique George to Everton and Jimmy-Jay Morgan to West Bromwich Albion for a combined fee of more than £120m.
Generating transfer income has become increasingly important for Chelsea, who lag behind their traditional big-six rivals in commercial and matchday revenue, while also falling behind in broadcast income after missing out on Champions League football in three of the past four seasons.
Source: BBC
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