Sporting director “massive fan” of rising England star – and Chelsea could have a chance | OneFootball

Our writer Simon Phillips has been all over the coverage of Chelsea’s interest in Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa, and today has launched an exclusive on his Substack page which has us all really excited.

He reiterated that the Blues are “big” on trying to sign the attacker, and has some detail to fill in the blanks on how that might actually go down in the summer.

PSR worries put Chelsea squarely in Rogers race

Morgan Rogers playing in the Champions League, – he’s now a top Chelsea target. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

In what promises to be a “busy” summer, Chelsea are keen to sign a left winger and a striker, and Rogers has the advantage of being able to fill in both positions.

A deal for Rogers – a freshly minted England player, 22 years old and coming off the back of a great season in the Premier League and an impressive impact in the Champions League – should be prohibitively expensive. But the key twist in this tale is Villa’s PSR situation.

They’re struggling to stay within the spending limits, and if they miss out on a return to the Champions League, those issues will only grow more troublesome. A big sale may be their only hope, at least that’s what Chelsea hope.

Chelsea director a “massive fan” of rising star

To add even more weight to the argument is the claim from Phillips’ source that Joe Shields, one of our recruitment chiefs, is a “massive fan” of Rogers and is personally driving the interest. Shields was reportedly the man who pushed for Cole Palmer, who happens to be one of Rogers’ best friends.

The £90m sums being mentioned right now are too much for Chelsea to consider – but we’re waiting in the wings to see if PSR troubles force that number down.