Chelsea strike mega £117m Morgan Rogers transfer with Arsenal set to miss out on star
Arsenal had long been considered favourites in the race to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa but the England star could now join their London rivals, Chelsea
Morgan Rogers looks to be Chelsea-bound(Image: Getty)
Chelsea are on the cusp of sealing a blockbuster £117million deal for Morgan Rogers in what would be one of the summer’s biggest transfers.
Rogers, 23, has emerged as one of the most sought-after attackers in Europe after another dazzling season with Aston Villa and was always expected to move for a significant transfer fee after the World Cup.
Arsenal had seemed to be the most likely destination for the former Middlesbrough star and are known to be huge admirers of Rogers.
But it is Chelsea who have now struck a verbal agreement to sign Rogers for a fee of £117m, with the player relishing the prospect of linking up with Chelsea’s new manager, Xabi Alonso.
With Stamford Bridge emerging as Rogers’ preferred destination after talks with Alonso, the player has already agreed terms on a six-year contract and a medical is pencilled in for Monday.
Rogers started and notched an assist in England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina and could be in action again tonight in the third-place play-off with France.
The transfer will trigger a huge windfall for Rogers former club, Middlesbrough, who included a 20 per cent sell-on clause into the deal which took the attacking midfielder to Villa Park for an initial £7m with a further £8m in add-ons back in the 2024 winter window.
Landing Rogers is the first major win for Alonso, who agreed to become Chelsea’s new manager earlier this year.
The Spaniard will attempt to restore Chelsea’s position in the upper echelons of the Premier League and get them challenging for major honours again following a challenging 2025-26 campaign which saw them finish 10th.
Rogers should further enhance Chelsea’s attacking output after accumulating 14 goals and 12 assists across 55 games for Aston Villa last season in all competitions, helping them win the Europa League.
Not only will Rogers become Chelsea’s club-record signing, with the deal surpassing the £107m agreement that brought Enzo Fernandez to Stamford Bridge, but he will also become the most expensive British footballer of all time ahead of his England colleague, Elliot Anderson.
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