Morgan Rogers is a footballer with the world at his feet. The 22-year-old Aston Villa attacker has got the flicks, the stepovers, the dribbles, the passing and the vision for whenever he receives the ball on the half-turn, before blasting forward.
I was at Villa Park to watch him pull the strings against Bologna in the Champions League in midweek and Youri Tielemans told us afterwards that whenever he gets the ball, his first thought is to get it to Rogers as quickly as possible.
He is a little like Dennis Bergkamp in how he starts high but drops into pockets of space, and that is crucial to Unai Emery’s signature style of play — which saw off the Italians the other night.
You had Amadou Onana and Tielemans as a midfield pair. Then Rogers in one pocket and John McGinn in another after he moved inside from the left. His space on the left-hand side was filled by Ian Maatsen, who was flying forward to leave three at the back.
Jhon Duran was up front and being joined by Leon Bailey, who moved up from the right wing.
Morgan Rogers turned in another dominant performance in Aston Villa’s Champions League win over Bologna
The 22-year-old has begun the season in terrific form, with Villa enjoying a fine start on the continent and domestically
Some of the personnel may change for Saturday’s Premier League visit of Bournemouth, but one non-negotiable is that Rogers cannot go anywhere. He must remain in that central position, where he can be a creative tour de force, the key cog in the well-oiled machine that Emery has got running.
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Everything is going right for Villa’s manager, who even has the nice problem of Duran knocking the door down to start over Ollie Watkins.
Villa secured their highest finish in the Premier League since 1996 last season, and are now maintaining yet another
top-four push while sitting top of the Champions League table. Emery has already become
the fastest manager to 50 wins in Villa history, and with Rogers in the side, plenty more are bound to follow.
Yet Bournemouth will not be pushovers on Saturday. Their manager Andoni Iraola is a smiling assassin in the technical area, with his high-pressing team one of the most physical in the Premier League.
They committed more fouls than any other side last season and are towards the top again this term.
Andoni Iraola is looking to get one over another one of his compatriots this weekend after guiding Bournemouth to a win over Arsenal last time out
But to stop Villa they must curb the supply line to Rogers and that is now coming from Tielemans. He is a key man and back to his best.
The 27-year-old Belgian’s clever, line-breaking passing is serving Rogers as he drops into the pocket.
Bournemouth need to stop those balls if they are to back up last week’s win over Arsenal and come away from Villa Park with something to show for their efforts.
