Arsenal will have to pay a British record amount if they want to sign Morgan Rogers after Aston Villa named their price. The England star is currently away at the World Cup but remains the subject of huge interest from several Premier League sides. The champions believe they are at the front of the queue, but have been told they will have to pay £130 million to sign the playmaker.
British record fee required
That figure is £5 million more than Liverpool paid to sign Alexander Isak 12 months ago. Villa believe Rogers is a more expensive asset than Elliot Anderson, who is due to move to Manchester City for £116 million in the coming days. Villa ultimately do not want to sell their star man, who scored 14 times last season. Their valuation also factors in having to hand 20 per cent of the fee to Middlesbrough due to the sell-on clause included in his deal back in the 2024 winter transfer window.
Villa's European success
Unai Emery's side are back in the Champions League and have just won the Europa League, their first trophy in 30 years. Selling Rogers would certainly halt their momentum. Arsenal are keen to bolster their attacking options, which were exposed in the Champions League final against PSG, but it remains to be seen whether they would pay £130 million for Rogers. Currently their record signing is the £105 million they shelled out to sign Declan Rice from West Ham.
Rogers' rising stock
Rogers is on the way to becoming an England regular, as is Anderson, but Rogers has just been instrumental in a European triumph for the European outfit. City's rivals had always feared that their pursuit of Anderson was set to drive up prices in the market as clubs use his £116 million as a benchmark.
Arteta's ambition
Arsenal have not made any additions this summer but Mikel Arteta accepted they wanted to go to another level after finally ending their wait for Premier League glory. Rogers would complement a squad that already boasts England team-mates Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke. "We'll start to make some very important decisions, we want to reach another level," said the Arsenal boss. "We're going to have to show that ambition because they are more than capable of doing it but it's going to demand us to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart."
