Aston Villa have made serious moves with Unai Emery, but are currently facing major difficulties with the sale of Morgan Rogers, who will sign for Chelsea this summer.
Rogers, 23, has emerged as one of the best midfielders in the world over the past few seasons, but Villa have overcome these odds before, having seen a number of changes in key attacking positions over the past few years.
In January 2024, Jhon Duran left Villa Park and joined Al-Nassr in a £71m move. His bright start to life in the top flight ended, but Emery responded with confidence by signing Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford on loan, the two arrivals having “worked very well” for the club, according to former Manchester City defender Nedem Onuoha.
Replacing Rogers will be a very difficult task, made worse by the expected sale of Leon Bailey. It’s a hurdle Emery will be sure to scale, though.
How Aston Villa can replace Bailey and Rogers
Chelsea will sign Rogers this summer after agreeing a £117m fee with Aston Villa. This surpasses the one-time sale of Jack Grealish to Manchester City, with Rogers set to become the second most expensive player in Premier League history.
He is a complete phenomenon, powerful and efficient when he steps into the box. He can score and he can create, equally as effective down the wing as he is in a regular number 10 role.
Johan Manzambi, 20, has been signed from Freiburg for around £50m, and if his performances in Switzerland at the World Cup are anything to go by, he will add an attacking edge to Villa’s set-up, but it may not be enough given the versatile Bailey is also on the way.
Bailey has been a brilliant and persistent player for Aston Villa over the years, and when he revived his career at the club in the latter stages of last year after returning from a loan spell with Roma, he proved a host of doubters wrong.
The Lions have worked hard to strengthen their midfield following the sale of Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana’s ACL injury, but with Champions League football looming, they need more forwards.
The £50m star could sign to replace Rogers
Aston Villa lose a rare and powerful cog in Rogers, but he is irreplaceable. When Grealish was sold to City, Villa went strong, and the same concept can be applied here, if the right players are recruited.
According to TEAMtalk, Aston Villa have entered talks with Chelsea over a potential summer deal for Alejandro Garnacho, who is expected to leave Stamford Bridge in search of more first-team minutes. Villa is an obvious place for him, with the former player seemingly open to a move to the Midlands side.
Garnacho only joined the Blues from Manchester United one year ago in a £40m deal, but has not enjoyed the strongest seasons in the capital, and Xabi Alonso appears to regard him as surplus to requirements.
However, Chelsea are able to play hardball in the transfer market, and have actually raised Garnacho’s transfer fee to £50m. Garnacho, ironically, is open to a move to the Midlands, where he could take on a key role and finally realize the “world-class” potential Erik ten Hag says he couldn’t capture in 2024.
|
Garnacho’s Premier League career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
The season |
Applications (starting) |
Terms + Help |
|
25/26 |
24 (14) |
1 + 4 |
|
24/25 |
36 (23) |
6 + 2 |
|
23/24 |
36 (30) |
7 + 4 |
|
22/23 |
19 (5) |
3 + 2 |
|
21/22 |
2 (0) |
0 + 0 |
Garnacho is an attacking profile, strong and given the X-factor that allows him to do amazing things on the ball. His Man United bicycle kick against Everton has been firmly established as one of the Premier League’s biggest goals.
The 22-year-old scored just eight goals for Chelsea last season, one of which came in the Premier League, but this is a step back, a drop from the standards set a few years ago at Old Trafford, showing the quality and hunger to be one of the best.
Despite being down last year, Garnacho still won 45% of his floor contests. Rogers only won 36%, so there is an argument Emery can take from Garnacho and establish him as a Premier League star.
In this case, he could be the perfect replacement Rogers, electrifying and unpredictable. Hailed as a “special player” by Bruno Fernandes in the past, Emery could provide Argentina with a comfortable place to bounce back – as he did with former Man United team-mate Rashford a few years ago, putting the resurgent Three Lions on his way.
Garnacho, for his part, will need to kick and prove that his immersion in the situation is a situation, not a confirmation where opponents can point to his failure and inability to put it all together and support it.
NSWE needs to replace Rogers and continue to strengthen elsewhere. Given that Garnacho shares with Rogers the athleticism and physical attributes that have formed the basis of his success at Villa Park over the past few years, this could end up being a smart signing, ensuring that the club gets another player who can lead them to title-winning success.
