Aston Villa have accepted a British record fee of £117 million for Morgan Rodger's. This comes out of the blue as Arsenal were intrested in him. How will he fare at The Blues?

18/07/26

What has happend?

    In the last few hours, Aston Villa have accepted a £117 million pound bid from Chelsea for star attacker, Morgan Rodgers. This is a massive surprise as he was linked with Arsenal and the Gunners were prepared to bid for him. No real reports surfaced on his links with Chelsea.

Of course it's Chelsea

    It's no real shock that Chelsea have nodded for him. This is because of the spontaneous investment in the ownership of Blueco and Todd Bohely. Chelsea will stick a bid in for anyone, and due to their lucrative contracts, which basically means stack loads of cash. Another factor on why Chelsea tends to to succeed in their transfers is that they are a big club and is statistically the best club in the world as they have won everything there is to win. Playing for Chelsea means playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and it means you are there for the world to see. Additionally, the opportunity to play under football icon Xabi Alonso is something you can't say no to. 

What is his playing style?

    Morgan Rodgers is an explosive, high octane player who thrives on direct impact ball carrying. He excels in recieving the ball in deeper areas and using his explosive pace and ball skills to get into further regions of the pitch and get shots or crosses into the box. This brings us onto his next atribude, his shooting, he is unbelievable at scoring long range shots and only 15.5% of his shots come from a high probability zone. These shots are addidionally accurate with 38% of them hitting the target, also, his outperformed his xG by 3.15. This means he has scored 3 more goals than he is expected. In the Premier League, this is a highly sought after attribute due to the fact the you must take your chances in the Premier League. Despite being an attacking player, Rodgers is a player who frequently contributes at the back. Being 6'2, he uses his physical dominance to win the ball and drive forward. This immediately creates a counter attacking opportunity. 

How is this benefitial to Chelsea?

    Rodgers will have a huge impact on the Chelsea midfield. This is because he adds more dynamism to the midfield. The Chelsea midfield has an over reliance on lateral rigid passing. Morgan Rodgers will really give them an extra way of attacking entirely with his ability to bomb forward. He will also be vital in unlocking low blocks as he can dribble through them and he can additionally use his long shot prowess to hit the opposition by surprise and they can get surprise goals, which he got 10 of last season. He will let multiple defenders come onto him and then cut it back across the penalty area for oncoming runners. This tactic is incredibly effective as it takes 2 defenders out of the equation and allows for his teammates to overload the area. His defensive and ball winning skills will be paramount in Chelsea's counter attacks. Finally, he helps get the most out of Cole Palmer. Seeing as Palmer inverted playmaker, Rodgers valences this out as he does the same thing on the left hand side. Due to the fact that he drifts centrally, this draws defenders onto him and therefore allows for Cole Palmer to dictate the tempo of the game more as there is less defenders to mark him.

Is Chelsea the right move?

    Going to Chelsea makes quite a bit of sense when you look at things. If he went to Arsenal, despite getting European football, will not get as much game time as they have other creative outlets in midfield and on the left as they have players like Ebere Eze and Bukayo Saka. Head Coach Xabi Alonso's fluid high press system values dynamism and explosive strength, which come naturally to Rodgers and it will really suit his playing style. However,  there will be some immense pressure on him being a British record player as he will be expected to hit the ground running week in and week out. To add on, there will be no European football and there will be a risk of a changing squad as players at Chelsea come and go. Moreover, the tactical blueprint, wages and better game time makes Chelsea a better option than Arsenal overall for the career progression for Morgan Rodgers.

Image: rawpixel.com

Final Words

    After a shock transfer twist to Chelsea. The move actually makes sense. His aggressive high energy style fits Xabi Alonso's style and his physical defending makes transitions more elevated in quality . However, he has missed out on Europe with Arsenal.