Chelsea star makes Premier League title prediction after £117m Morgan Rogers move

Morgan Rogers joined Chelsea earlier this month with the Blues paying a club-record fee to Aston Villa

Jamie Gittens believes the record-breaking signing of Morgan Rogers can help “raise the bar” at Stamford Bridge and bring success back to Chelsea.

Rogers joined the Blues last week for a club-record £117million – the highest transfer fee ever paid for a British player – from Aston Villa after the west Londoners stole a march on rivals Arsenal. Xabi Alonso is understood to have played an enormous role in Rogers giving Chelsea the green light after the new manager phoned the England international to tell him his plans for him in the Blues side.

Gittens’ job in cementing a place in the first-team picture under Alonso has suddenly become more difficult with Rogers, a player who occupies a similar position to his countryman. However, Gittens has welcomed the addition.

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“Yeah, of course,” said Gittens when asked if Rogers’ signing has helped raise the mood within the camp. “We want to win everything – that is our ambition; to win the Premier League, the FA Cup and win anything that we’re in.

“Bringing in a player like Morgan will hopefully raise the bar to win titles.”

Rogers is set to join up with the Chelsea squad after the club’s pre-season tour of Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia, following his World Cup exploits with England. Gittens, meanwhile, has been given more time to train with new manager Alonso over the last few weeks and has seized the opportunity by scoring in back-to-back behind-closed-door friendlies against Crawley Town and Bromley.

The public got to see Alonso with his new squad for the first time on Sunday evening – Australian time – with Chelsea holding an open training session at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. A few thousand supporters watched their heroes take to the pitch and got to see Alonso’s hands-on approach in the flesh.

Gittens revealed a lift in the mood since Alonso’s arrival: “Everyone is very positive, looking forward to the new season and to be better and to succeed, which is the main thing.”

The 21-year-old winger missed essentially the second half of his debut season at Stamford Bridge due to a hamstring injury but he has looked sharp this summer. Gittens, though, is not quite at 100% fitness.

“I feel 92 (percent fitness),” said Gittens, in an oddly specific fashion. “In these pre-season games (he can add another 8%), keep going, keep pushing myself, put more minutes in my legs.”