Chelsea Agrees to British Record £117m Fee With Aston Villa for Morgan Rogers
Chelsea have a verbal agreement with Aston Villa to sign Morgan Rogers for £117m, a fee that would make the England midfielder the most expensive player in the club's history.
The Athletic reports personal terms are already settled on a contract running to 2032, with a further 12-month option, and that a medical has been pencilled in for Monday once administrative details are finalised. The fee would move past the British record Manchester City set for Elliot Anderson and comfortably beyond the £106m Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in 2023.
Arsenal had been strongly linked with Rogers throughout the interest period, but he opted for west London, with Alonso's arrival cited as the deciding factor. Rogers scored 31 goals and added 29 assists in 125 appearances since his £7m move from Middlesbrough in early 2024, a transfer that carries a 20 per cent sell-on clause for the Championship club. He was central to Villa's Europa League title and Champions League qualification last season, contributing 14 goals and 12 assists in 2025-26 alone.
Rogers remains on England duty for now, having started six of the Three Lions' World Cup matches and set up Anthony Gordon's goal in the semi-final. He is in the side for the third-place playoff against France before turning his attention to Stamford Bridge.
Aston Villa are already reinvesting. Unai Emery's club have paid over £50m for Johan Manzambi and agreed a £35m deal for Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, and are said to be pursuing Crysencio Summerville and Ibrahim Mbaye.
