So, officially Morgan Rogers is now a Chelsea player and the £117million transfer has already been one of the biggest acts in the summer transfer window. The England international was on the brink of a shock transfer move to Arsenal, but has now joined in surprise fashion on a six-year deal with option to extend for a further season at Stamford Bridge. With England’s World Cup finals behind them, Chelsea had to move quickly-after all fans and great players, they’ll soon be too costly to maintain! The deal signing makes Chelsea’s team stronger with Xabi Alonso, while at the same time it marks the club’s interest in signing players who can assist the team immediately as opposed to the usual “sitting on the pink carpet” approach adopted by the club in the past.
The pursuit of Morgan Rogers was anything but rushed at Chelsea. The Blues had been fetishising the abilities of the versatile attacker for over a couple of years before the summer transfer window opened and apparently had him on their radar as a key attacking target even before that. After World Cup glory, the Chelsea sporting directors Behdad Eghbali and boss Xabi Alonso honched into it big quick after England to persuade Rogers that Stamford Bridge was the place for him to call home. Chelsea had a close connection to Aston Villa, as they were able to complete one of the highest bid football transactions in history without problems. Then, Arsenal were offered an equal opportunity-sign the Chelsea team up but opted to remain at their value, meaning that the Blues are free to go through with this blockbuster transfer.
The deal is also a reflection of a new agency for Chelsea. The club has a strong talent pool of youngsters who have a long career ahead of them and have been the focus of their investment for the past couple of seasons, but this is a more even spreader. Rogers has enjoyed Premier League football, has squandered goal-scoring opportunities as a player for England on the international stage and has been capable of finding the net and creating chances consistently, when playing against high level football opposition. Chelsea have high hopes for him to make an instant contribution and he still has much scope to become an European superstar. It’s a real paradigm change for a club seeking to get back into title competition.
Xabi Alonso could benefit from Morgan Rogers’ tactical versatility for the Chelsea side, and he has the potential to change the way the team attacks. Both Rogers and Cole Palmer can be flashy attacking midfielders, but what is expected of Rogers is to be mostly on the left, with the aforementioned Cole Palmer continuing to be the central attacker of his Chelsea’s era – the creative inspirer. Known for changing tactics based on opponents, Alonso. In his title winning career with Bayer Leveqer, he always had two attacking midfielders behind his central attacker – and could still find room for both Palmer and Rogers to operate within the formation. The versatility will provide a range of attacking possibilities for the midfielders and defend them in the final third in a much different way.
The data imply that Rogers has ability to shape the forward play for Chelsea right away. Played consistently through the midfield last season, setting up stretches for goals and creating chances for teammates, he also assisted in 12 of his team’s goals and scored 14 of his own in all competitions. Chelsea missed out on goals a number of times last season – including a bewildering run of five matches where they couldn’t find the net which ultimately led to managerial changes. One of the biggest problems in the club, generally is the lack of an attacker or creator in the middle of the floor who can score and drive with the ball. He has also the crucial physical strength, speed and self-belief to play away from the pack to support Alonso’s attacking approach.
Chelsea’s faith in Morgan Rogers has been further boosted by the fact they have a dressing room to himself when he enters. His friendship with Cole Palmer goes back to their time at Manchester City academy, where they grew into two of England’s promising young talents. They’re still in close collaboration and there is no doubt chemistry is a potential thing to happen on the pitch very soon. Rogers also has experience with Reece James and former Manchester City academy product Levi Colwill, as well a number of past club pupils at Chelsea, such as Romeo Lavia, Liam Delap and Tosin Adarabioyo. He will be assisted by his team-mates in getting used to life at Stamford Bridge, with belief in them around him that can only aid his path to settling into the club.
Chelsea has a good amount of attacking talent in their squad now, and would be expected to become more of a problem than it already is. Penguins Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian and Geovany Quenda are all heading to the wide area and Nicolas Jackson, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap are coming up against one another to occupy the position of the striker. The depth that Alonso has and will have will help his squad stick together by building up a bench of quality as Chelsea didn’t have last year when they struggled. Now cut will be the challenge as the squad will be depleted by the departures of various players ahead of the transfer window closing.
It is another big financial ploy – and one they believe they can afford to make – but the transfer is seen as one logical move in the planning process. The club has already picked up high revenue from selling players and is still changing its lineup to comply with Premier League and UEFA economic laws and rules. The club has recently sold a number of players which has strengthened its finances but more is probably to come as Chelsea look to cut numbers and costs. It’s a decision that cost £117m because it is believed that a proven quality for the money will aid the return to the top of English football.
Chelsea fans will rightly want quick results after making such a big splash with his signing, but the goal is ultimately the long haul as opposed to short-term gains. Morgan Rogers is one of England’s fastest rising stars and has a history of being comfortable under pressure, and stretches of the greatest of stages. Versatility, creativity and a balanced squad fit, means that there isn’t much effort required for him to figure out how to fit in places where he certainly can, making him one of the most logical signings to make this summer for the Blues. Chelsea could really look forward to dominating for the trophies again if Alonso can construct his strike-lines around Rogers and Palmer.
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