{"id":19676,"date":"2026-07-21T17:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=19676"},"modified":"2026-07-21T17:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:10:10","slug":"paul-merson-is-wrong-about-morgan-rogers-and-chelsea-after-117m-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=19676","title":{"rendered":"Paul Merson is wrong about Morgan Rogers and Chelsea after \u00a3117m agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-377924\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Former Arsenal player and Chelsea fan Paul Merson has shared his thoughts on Morgan Rogers\u2019 impending move to Stamford Bridge.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chelsea have agreed to sign Rogers from Villa in a \u00a3117m deal, which will make him the most expensive signing in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>Rogers is one of the stars of the Premier League, but many are questioning the transfer fee that Chelsea are paying, including Merson.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"a7ff3fe3-a05c-423f-9e8c-99ae14865441\" data-story-name=\"Chelsea Transfers\" data-comment-id=\"f547853c-9203-45a5-8904-93e45e77bef6\" data-story-slug=\"chelsea-transfers\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">DISCUSS: In this current market, Rogers is a bargain \ud83d\udc40<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-377664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Match-report.png 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-chelsea-do-need-morgan-rogers-despite-paul-merson-claim\">Chelsea do need Morgan Rogers despite Paul Merson claim<\/h2>\n<p>Because of Cole Palmer, Merson does not think that Chelsea actually need Rogers.<\/p>\n<p>In his column for Sky Sports, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of money. Crazy money. Bringing Morgan Rogers in for \u00a3117m isn\u2019t what Chelsea needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve got\u00a0Cole Palmer! They play in the same position! Rogers went to the World Cup instead of Palmer, because they play in the same position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like Palmer, Rogers\u2019 preferred position is attacking midfielder. However, Rogers is set to play on the left under Xabi Alonso, and that is an area of the pitch where Chelsea needed to strengthen.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-getty-images-media\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer of England\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2268739064-750x500.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer of England during the international friendly match between England and Japan at Wembley Stadium on March 31, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson\/Offside\/Offside via Getty Images)\">Photo by Charlotte Wilson\/Offside\/Offside via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Alejandro Garnacho underwhelmed last season and is now set to leave west London, while Jamie Gittens has had some injury problems since joining Chelsea.<\/p>\n<p>Rogers is not a novice in the left-wing position. According to Transfermarkt, the 23-year-old has played there 35 times for Villa. <\/p>\n<p>Rogers has also been deployed on the right, so he is clearly capable of playing out wide.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-morgan-rogers-and-cole-palmer-can-play-in-same-xi\">Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer can play in same XI<\/h2>\n<p>With Rogers likely to play on the left at Stamford Bridge, there is nothing stopping Alonso from starting both the World Cup star and Palmer.<\/p>\n<p>In a 4-2-3-1 formation, Palmer could easily play as the No.10 or on the right. It should not be a difficult task to get the England duo into the same team.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"b4765003-a1d5-4363-965d-eea99e058f86\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Where would this Chelsea team finish? \ud83d\udc40<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Chelsea's potential starting XI for 2026\/27\" class=\"wp-image-377750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Potential-XI-1.png 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>What you can question, though, is the price tag. With that being said, that is just the market now it seems.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester City have paid \u00a3116m for Elliot Anderson, while Tottenham Hotspur have signed Sandro Tonali for \u00a3100m. Both men are midfielders who are not going to win as many points as an attacker like Rogers will across an entire season.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, perhaps \u00a3117m for the England international is a reasonable fee after all.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/paul-merson-is-wrong-about-morgan-rogers-and-chelsea-after-117m-agreement\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Paul Merson is wrong about Morgan Rogers and Chelsea after \u00a3117m agreement',content_category:'News',content_ids:(377924,\"morgan-rogers\",\"paul-merson\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Former Arsenal player and Chelsea fan Paul Merson has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}