Jude Bellingham has given Chelsea ultimate £117m transfer green light for Morgan Rogers

Morgan Rogers is closing in on a £117million transfer from Aston Villa to Chelsea with the England international set to sign a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea are finalising a deal to bring Morgan Rogers to Stamford Bridge on a six-year (with the option of a further 12 months) contract.

Sources say the Blues reached an agreement on Saturday, understood to be £117million, for the 23-year-old to move to west London from the west Midlands. Rogers is undergoing his medical today (Monday) ahead of signing a long-term deal for Chelsea.

The England international is set to be handed an extended break before joining up with Xabi Alonso’s squad for pre-season. After representing the Three Lions at the recently-concluded World Cup, Rogers will be given at least three weeks of downtime (as will the other players who participated in North America) before getting himself ready for his debut season at the Bridge.

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During his time with the England camp, his bromance with Jude Bellingham was talked about a lot. Bellingham, who was the nation’s poster boy during the Three Lions’ run to the semi-final, is a huge admirer of Rogers, with the two having a close friendship.

Speaking on an episode of England’s Lion’s Den before the World Cup started last month, Bellingham wouldn’t stop with his praise for Rogers: “He looks like a superstar – he knows what he’s doing. Just from the way he takes the ball, the way he drives away from a player; he looks like a star. Do you know what I mean?

“That presence he has on the pitch comes from his confidence. I’ve watched games of his where I think, ‘oh, he’s not really in the game’, and then 30 seconds later he bends one in the top corner and is doing that (imitates his ‘cold’ celebration).

“He’s not even been in the game but that’s what big players, for me, have to do; even if the game isn’t going your way, you find a way to make the game in your team’s favour. I think he’s unbelievable at that.

“The other thing, for me, is his ability to combine key aspects of the game. I think if I had to play against him; control is immaculate, physically he’s a beast, the confidence that we’ve spoken about, how he can play as a No.10, off the right, off the left, he can probably play as a No.9. How do you defend against that?

“Imagine if I have joy against him playing as a No.6 and he’s No.10 and then he goes, ‘I’m just going to drag you out to the left for a one-v-one, and by the way, if you want to bring your mate, I can take both of you on. Now we’re going to go to the right and take you on one-v-one there and cut in on my left foot. Nah, actually, I’m gonna take you down the line.’

“I just appreciate a player who puts all aspects of the game together and it aids him. Not only will he take a good touch, he’ll then put his frame in the way. How can you get the ball? He uses his arm. Everything, for me, in his game is at a really high level. What he’s been doing for Villa over the last couple of seasons is at a really high level.

“That finishing technique; the sort of dippy one where he kind of uses the side of his foot to make the ball dip and drop. The only person I’ve ever seen do it as consistently as well as he does was Marco Reus. From any angle, he could find that part of his foot where he could lift the ball and put it in the net from however far out he wanted to.

“He’s a joy to watch, a joy to play with, a joy to compete with and test myself against. That’s all I’ll say – and I’ll never say it again (laughs).”

That is quite the monologue from Bellingham and Chelsea supporters will be hoping Rogers can live up to such a billing. The thought of Rogers playing alongside attacking talent like Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Estevao Willian is one that is already exciting Blues fans from all around the world.