Villa’s price has dampened Arsenal’s interest in Morgan Rogers, with Unai Emery’s club reportedly using Elliot Anderson’s £116m move as a benchmark.
Morgan Rogers has questioned whether he is worth the £130million valuation placed on him by Aston Villa, after Arsenal reportedly stepped back from a move for the England forward.
Arsenal have been strongly linked with Rogers this summer, but Villa’s absurd price has made a deal difficult.
James McNicholas has reported for The Athletic that Arsenal’s pursuit has been complicated by Villa’s intention to use Manchester City’s £116m deal for Elliot Anderson as a benchmark.
The comparison is a strange one, given the two players have very different profiles, but it appears to be part of Villa’s position.
Matt Law has also reported for The Telegraph that Villa do not want to sell Rogers and believe he is worth more than Anderson.
Villa’s valuation of £130m is a figure well above the British transfer record, with Middlesbrough’s sell-on clause also said to be factored into their calculation. Rogers joined Villa from Middlesbrough for around £7m in 2024 and is under contract until 2031 after renewing at the end of 2025.
The 23-eyear-old scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists last season, numbers that explain why Arsenal have looked seriously at him. The question is whether that form justifies such a massive fee. Currently, the Gunners – and everybody else outside Villa – do not think it does.
Arsenal admire the player, and Rogers is understood to want the move, but the price tag risks pushing the champions away from the deal altogether, which seems to be what Villa want.
Rogers was asked about the reported figure before England’s World Cup match against Mexico, and his answer was more grounded than the market around him.
“I’m not sure I’m worth all of that!” he said when asked about his reported valuation.
“Of course it’s nice to hear that from people. But I don’t let outside noise dictate me.”
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