Morgan Rogers’ recent rise has been meteoric.
By Sam McGuire
Just 12 months ago, the 22-year-old was struggling to impress for Middlesborough following his summer move from Manchester City. Rogers started the first five games of the season before dropping to the bench. His next start didn’t arrive until the end of November. He didn’t score his first goal for Boro until October and he registered his first assist a week prior.
The one-time Bournemouth loanee found his feet in December and his good form extended into January as he assisted four goals and found the back of the net on one occasion. And then Aston Villa came calling.
Rogers’ move to Villa Park caught people off guard. Unai Emery already had options in attack and another versatile forward seemed a bit excessive. Not only has he managed to carve out a spot in the first-team picture, he’s now a key player in the starting XI.
The 6’2″ attacker made his Champions League debut for the Villans in their 3-0 win over Young Boys. He then followed up that performance with a Player of the Match showing against Wolves last weekend.
The Villa No27 was named in the FotMob Team of the Week after grabbing two assists as Emery’s men overturned a 1-0 deficit to claim a 3-1 victory. Rogers threaded a pass into the path of Ollie Watkins for the leveller and then set up the free-scoring Jhon Durán for the third to kill the game off.
His performance was rightly praised by the media. Gary Linekar singled him out on the Rest is Football podcast. The Match of the Day host waxed lyrical about Rogers’ heroics against Wolves: “I’ll tell you who was good again, Morgan Rogers. I mean, he was really, really good, and he was probably the one that turned it round more than anyone else.”
This sort of game had been coming for Rogers. His end product had been missing this term until last weekend’s game. But he’d still been effective and that is why he’d been able to retain his place in the starting XI.
Rogers himself had acknowledged the lack of final third contributions prior to the Wolves match.
“I’m struggling to hit a barn door at this rate! I’m just missing a goal or an assist. My confidence is high, I’m going onto the pitch with a real swagger. I’m loving my football. I’m playing the best I’ve ever played. As long as we’re winning, I’m happy. A goal would be nice – I can feel one coming.”
The four-cap England Under-21 international scored twice for the Young Lions against Austria during the September international break and you could tell he’d been playing with confidence. It was just a matter of when he’d start to impact the final phase for the Villans this term. He could clearly do it at this level. He finished with four-goal involvements last season following his move from Boro.
Deployed as an attacking midfielder by Emery this campaign, Rogers is pivotal to how Villa play. And it isn’t as though the Spanish tactician doesn’t have options. The likes of Leon Bailey, Ross Barkley, Emiliano Buendía, and Durán are all watching from the sidelines. His ability and potential also no doubt played a part in the club’s decision to part ways with Moussa Diaby in the summer, despite the Frenchman’s exploits last season during his debut campaign in the Premier League.
Rogers has a fairly unique profile and that could be why he’s part of Emery’s starting XI.
The 22-year-old is tall but has the playing style of a nimble winger. He’s a progressive ball carrier, averaging over 2.5 successful dribbles per 90 since moving to the Premier League. He’s robust, explosive over short distances and a dual threat in the sense he can score and assist.
It is something Michael Appleton, Rogers’ former manager at Lincoln City mentioned during an interview with Sky Sports last season.
“I think that is what makes him even more dangerous compared to others who are known for dribbling the ball. It is one thing being nippy with a slight frame and going past people but when you are 6’2″ and you can do that…
“Some of them are almost scared of their own shadow at times, aren’t they? Morgan is the opposite. He actually likes the contact. He enjoys people being really tight to him and he can then use his physical frame to roll them on the inside or the outside.”
If this early season form continues, Rogers could force his way into the senior England squad. Yes, he’d be competing for minutes against a talented group of players, with the Three Lions stacked in the final third, but there’s just something about him and his style that could give him an edge over his competition. He’s already gone from the Championship to the Champions League in the space of a year. Would it really be surprising to see him gatecrash the England team?
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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