Chelsea have signed a £117m deal with Aston Villa to sign Morgan Rodgers.
A transfer to Chelsea is planned after this. Arsenal made Rodgers their priority striker this summer. – And an approach from the Gunners for Villa was expected after the World Cup.
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Take a look at Morgan Rodgers’ best goals from last season
But Arsenal were not willing to take that price and Rodgers is set to join Chelsea. He gave up Champions League football against Villa or Arsenal next season to play for a team with no European football whatsoever.
Rodgers signed a six-year contract with Chelsea and is expected to sign for one more year. He is scheduled to undergo a medical test on Monday after returning from the United States after the World Cup in England.
Rodgers will become England’s most expensive player. That record has already been broken after Manchester City paid £116m for his England team-mate Elliott Anderson this summer.
He is also set to become Chelsea’s record signing in 2023, surpassing the £115m the Blues paid to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
The 23-year-old scored 14 goals and added 11 assists in 55 appearances for Villa last season.
Rodgers, who joined from Middlesbrough in 2024 for a fee worth £16m, has quickly progressed from a young prospect to a fully-fledged England international with 21 caps already.
He made five appearances during the 2026 World Cup and provided an assist for Anthony Gordon during England’s semi-final loss to Argentina.
Villa’s nightmare summer transfer window: ‘Gut punch after gut punch’
Lewis Jones on Sky Sports:
Aston Villa should have attacked from a position of strength this summer. Champions League football ended in 4th place. European silverware in cabinet. Manager Unai Emery can believe the foundations have finally been laid for Villa to become a true top four regular.
Instead, this spear’s initial movement lurched towards the realm of nightmares.
Youri Tielemans, the metronome of Emery’s midfield and the team’s most influential player over the past 18 months, has left for Manchester United. Paris Saint-Germain are expected to activate Lucas Digne’s release clause after the World Cup, ridding Villa of one of the Premier League’s most reliable attacking full-backs.
And now comes the biggest hunch of them all. Rodgers, Villa’s standout performer and the face of the club’s exciting future, is on the verge of joining Chelsea in a record sale.
You’re watching your squad get torn apart. What is Emery thinking?
The message he delivered after lifting the Europa League trophy was clear. This wasn’t the end. The villa had to be built from here. We had to keep the momentum going. Instead, the project appears to be moving backwards.
Johan Manzambi is expected to arrive and there is much to say about his potential. But you can’t replace Premier League quality overnight with proven potential.
Emery developed a reputation for solving problems that others could not. But even the best managers need stability. He is looking at the prospect of rebuilding the backbone of the team while competing on all fronts.
He has performed miracles before. He may have to produce his greatest work yet.
Former Manchester City youth player signed by Chelsea for £300m
Rogers will become the seventh former Man City youth player to sign for Chelsea following the new acquisition.
The man responsible for recruiting former City players is Chelsea’s joint director of recruitment and talent. Joe Shields.
Shields served as Man City’s head of academy recruitment and talent management, working alongside former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who coached City’s elite development squad, essentially the club’s U-21 team.
morgan rogers – Summer 2026* – £117m
Jamie Gittens – Summer 2025, £51.5m
Liam Delap – Summer 2025, £30m
Jadon Sancho – Summer 2024, rental
Tosin Adarabioyo – Summer 2024, free
Romeo Labia – Summer 2023, £58m
cole palmer – Summer 2023, £40m
*Not yet completed
Total spend: £296.5m
More to follow...
