Ollie Watkins was the star of Aston Villa’s last win over Bournemouth, setting up the last two goals, but he couldn’t have done it without Morgan Rogers. Without Rogers, Villa would not have been able to sustain this Champions League push.
Since arriving from Middlesbrough for an £8million fee in January, the 21-year-old has been a huge success under Unai Emery and has taken on more responsibility than expected. He has become a driving force in this Villa team.
His solo equalizer against Bournemouth was typical and showed the mix of power and finesse that makes him such a difficult opponent. The pass that brought Watkins to the winning goal also showed foresight.
Rogers’ success, even if unusual, is a reminder of the talent that lies within the Championship. This is a physically imposing figure, but is one of the top ten dribblers per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. It’s a rare combination.
“I think that makes him even more dangerous compared to others who are known for dribbling the ball,” says Michael Appleton Sky Sports. “It’s one thing to be nimble and walk past people with a slim build, but if you’re 6 feet tall you can do that…”
Appleton, who gave Rogers his league debut at Lincoln City, added: “He’s grown into it a bit but he’s always had a decent frame. The good thing about Morgan is that some of these young players who have these physical attributes don’t know how to use them.
“Some of them are almost afraid of their own shadow sometimes, aren’t they? Morgan is the opposite. He actually likes the contact. He enjoys it when people are very close to him, and then he can use his physical condition to push them, the inside or the outside.
Rogers in League One action for Michael Appleton’s Lincoln City
Appleton had come to Rogers’ attention when he was very young, having worked at West Brom’s academy. He spoke to coaches Jimmy Shan and Mark Harrison, now Villa’s academy manager, received positive feedback and signed him on loan from Manchester City.
Rogers was eager to prove himself at first-team level and what was apparent even as a teenager was that, having left West Brom for a season in City’s development squad, he was ready to play – both mentally and physically. “The kid was so confident,” Appleton says.
“We weren’t the biggest team and I remember there were a few games where we were thinking about the opponent and who to take and he just said, ‘Put me on their biggest player. I’ll do the job.’ He was really serious. He had so much faith.
Lincoln reached Wembley this season and lost to Blackpool in the League One play-off final. Since Brennan Johnson was also on the team, Rogers was used in various positions. “Because I knew Morgan liked contact, I knew I could play him inside as a 10.”
Rogers was dejected after the defeat to Lincoln City at Wembley
They reunited in Blackpool in January last year, but Appleton left within days. Only a back problem prevented the deal from being completed in the summer. “I always joke with him that if we had done it in August he would have kept me in a job.”
Rogers learned from this experience at the wrong end of the Championship and eventually signed permanently for Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough. “Michael recognized that this was a player who could easily compete at the top of the Championship.”
That he was on loan at Blackpool less than a year ago is a reminder of how quickly Rogers has progressed – and how far he has already come. It is now the top end of the Premier League. “It didn’t surprise me in the least,” Appleton says.
Morgan Rogers’ heatmap and pass sonar for Aston Villa so far this season
Rogers is still learning, a process aided by his mentality. Unai Emery says that he “sets very high standards for himself” and that his work off the ball has now improved significantly. This is a player who can press well, eats up the ground and is becoming more mature in his positional play.
“That was an area where we wanted more from him at Lincoln,” Appleton says. “Because he’s a boy who understands and wants to improve, he did it.” A curious detail is that he blocks a cross more often than any other non-defender in the Premier League.
It helps that Emery and his team have realized there is a place for him at Villa. This wasn’t a punt, but a calculation that Rogers had the qualities to slip seamlessly into the team. What he is doing now is very similar to what he did at Middlesbrough.
The player radar makes this clear. Emery is visibly happy. “He’s a player,” he said Sky Sports on the weekend. “He is intelligent. He understands football. When we analyzed and signed him, it was because we analyzed his ability to adapt quickly to our structure.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Unai Emery praised Rogers after Aston Villa’s win over Bournemouth
The decision to relegate to the Championship was confirmed. Rogers wasn’t City’s most high-profile young departure in the summer, that was Cole Palmer. But it’s not the Chelsea player who is likely to feature in the Champions League next season.
“When you leave a club you’ve played at since you were a kid to go to an institution the size of Man City, you sometimes lose track of all the bodies that are in the building,” Appleton explains. “You have to take a step back to move forward again.”
Rogers is now only looking forward. It’s tempting to say he’ll get to the Champions League, but he’s more than on track to get there. He was a key factor in Villa maintaining their momentum this spring. Perhaps the best buy of the January window.
“The one thing young players are constantly asked about is their temperament. He has the talent to do it, but young players test their temperament when they try to reach the next level. He has that temperament. I see his career going higher and higher.