During the 2023/24 season, Aston Villa spent around £92.5m across both transfer windows, making seven permanent signings, alongside two loan deals, bringing Clement Lenglet and Nicolo Zaniolo in on temporary deals.
Unai Emery’s side finished fourth in the Premier League during the 2023/24 season, qualifying for Champions League football, finishing two points ahead of Tottenham. Amazingly, this was the first time the Villans had qualified for the competition since it was rebranded to the Champions League in 1992.
Player
Fee (£)
Moussa Diaby
£45.6m
Pau Torres
£27.3m
Morgan Rogers
£7.8m
Kosta Nedeljkovic
£6.3m
Joe Gauci
£1.2m
Youri Tielemans
£0
Lino Sousa
?
Despite the big-money signings of Moussa Diaby and Pau Torres, perhaps the best of the lot during this season was the signing of Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough in January.
After a cracking start to 2024/25 where he’s even earned his England debut, it’s safe to say that he is proving his worth to Emery’s side this season.
Morgan Rogers' rising transfer value at Aston Villa
Aston Villa agreed a deal to sign Rogers from Middlesbrough on February 1st 2024 for a fee of around just £8m, which could eventually rise to £16m if all add-ons are met. Since joining the club, the 22-year-old has made 39 appearances, netting eight goals and providing five assists.
When Rogers first joined Aston Villa, his value according to Transfermarkt was about £7m, but nine months later, the England international is valued at £33m, nearly doubling his maximum fee (£16m) since joining from Middlesbrough.
With the development Rogers is already making at just 22-years-old, and the desire for profiles of his type, with central carriers who can provide goals and assists, the attacking midfielder could easily become one of the next big-money stars to emerge out of the Midlands, following in the footsteps of Jack Grealish.
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Why Rogers is a big-money player in the making
This has been a real breakthrough campaign for Rogers who is already proving he was worth the small fee that NSWE paid for his services.
Earning an England debut and becoming a genuine Premier League force this term, he has scored five goals and registered four assists in all competitions.
He perhaps saved his best performance in Villa colours yet for when Manchester City came to town on Sunday with the young attacking midfielder not only scoring what turned out to be the winner but supplying Jhon Duran’s opener.
That sort of form has seen Rogers compared to some of the best young English talent around, with FBref suggesting that the former City academy star is ‘similar’ to Marcus Rashford, who has recently been labelled a £100m asset himself.
Rashford has had a tough start this season at Manchester United. Despite scoring seven goals and providing three assists in 24 appearances, the 27-year-old already finds himself out of favour with new manager, Ruben Amorim, who demands a high work ethic throughout his side.
On the other hand, Rogers is having a “superb” campaign in the eyes of scout Jacek Kulig, not only in the Premier League, but also in the Champions League.
Goals
0.23
0.42
Assists
0.18
0.18
xG
0.21
0.19
xAG
0.25
0.18
Progressive Carries
3.30
2.52
Progressive Passes
4.10
2.38
Shots Total
2.03
2.23
Key Passes
1.75
1.26
Shot-Creating Actions
3.73
2.73
Rashford has actually averaged a better goal output than Rogers this season, scoring 0.42 goals per 90 but the pairing are averaging 0.18 assists per 90. However, the underlying metrics heavily favour the Villa star who has generated more xG and xAG, has better progressive metrics, and creates more chances through shot-creating actions and key passes for his side.
Even the metric above that Rashford does beat Rogers in (shots total) actually shows despite the 27-year-old having a higher shot-volume, he actually generates a lower xG from these shots and chances, compared to Rogers with a slightly lower shot-volume.
With the rarity of his profile, his proven ability to provide output in the Premier League, and the fact he is still 22-years-old and developing if Villa ever did look to sell Rogers, it could easily creep close to that £100m brush that Rashford has been painted with.
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