Aston Villa have not had the best of starts to the 2025/26 campaign, having picked up just one point from their opening three Premier League fixtures, yet to break their duck.
There was an acceptance from Unai Emery and the powers that be that the summer transfer window would weigh heavily on the club after missing out on Champions League football following a contentious final-day defeat at Manchester United.
However, a late flurry of activity indicates progress and promise. Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliot completed deadline-day loan moves; Victor Lindelof joined on a free transfer after his deal with Man United expired.
The late moves salvaged Villa’s frustrating summer, especially since Monchi and Damian Vidagany have retained the services of the most talented first-teamers.
Aston Villa have kept their best players
In August, Aston Villa sold Jacob Ramsey to Premier League rivals Newcastle United for a £43m fee. A poignant one, for sure. However, the sale of the homegrown talent has turned pure profit for the club, and perhaps played a role in securing a series of late-window additions.
Loan deals for Marcus Rashford, Axel Disasi and Marco Asensio came and passed, but the likes of Ollie Watkins and John McGinn remain at Villa Park after offers from divisional competition were resisted.
Watkins might not be coming off the back of his best season, but he still notched 17 goals and 14 assists across all competitions, while McGinn’s leadership, energy and presence within the dressing room are factors not easily replaced.
While the opening weeks of the campaign have felt somewhat stale, the mixture of fresh quality and abiding experience emphasises the club’s capacity to challenge in the Europa League and push for a high finish in the Premier League.
These players will play important roles this season, but none more so than Morgan Rogers, who was exceptional last season and might be viewed as the talisman of Emery’s project.
How Morgan Rogers' market value compares
Last month, Rogers was named the PFA Young Player of the Year for the 2024/25 Premier League season. The honour bears testament to his extraordinary strides in such a short time, only joining Villa from Middlesbrough in the Championship in January 2024.
The 23-year-old earned opportunities across the second half of the 2023/24 season in the Premier League, but it is last year that he truly came into his own, scoring 14 goals and supplying 16 assists across all competitions, including a haul of 19 goal contributions in the league alone.
He scored a hat-trick against Celtic in the Champions League and bagged a consolation goal as Villa were knocked out against eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain, with pundit Jamie Carragher hailing him as an “unstoppable” force.
The Lions might have started the campaign without much of a roar, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Rogers will be among the driving forces when Emery does create a winning formula for the months ahead.
Athletic and enterprising, no matter the tactical role handed to him, Rogers typically plays in a forward-thrust central midfield berth or out on the left flank, where his pace and power allow him to take on defenders and split lines.
Left winger
93
24 (10)
Attacking midfield
48
14 (10)
Right winger
43
9 (17)
Centre-forward
23
7 (4)
Young he may be, but Rogers has already led a storied career, developing his talents in the EFL after first looking for success within Manchester City’s packed youth academy.
The exciting part is there’s still so much for the England international to give, so much potential as yet untapped.
Senior figures at Villa feel Rogers has the potential to become one of the very best in the Premier League, defining the coming years for Emery’s side and perhaps fetching a transfer fee to rival that of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak, who joined the champions from Newcastle United for a British record £125m fee on deadline day.
One of the most dangerous strikers in the world, Isak’s name has come to be feared in English football, and he has made incremental progress across his three terms on Tyneside. Rogers, too, has shown the signs of bit-by-bit development, and could find himself stretching into even loftier conversations with another knockout year under Emery’s wing.
Indeed, as per CIES Football Observatory, Rogers has been valued at £99m, whereas Isak actually comes in at a smaller price: £89m.
Of course, this doesn’t paint an accurate picture in actuality, since Isak has just moved to Merseyside for a record-breaking fee. Still, it underscores the Three Lions star’s potential to develop into a star of a similar stature, having made such impressive progress across just one full season in the top flight.
Isak, 25, wasn’t refined when leaving Real Sociedad and arriving at St. James’ Park in 2022, but his years under Eddie Howe’s tutelage have shaped him into a superstar. So the parallels can be found with Rogers at Aston Villa.
Whether Aston Villa succeed in nurturing Rogers toward a world-class level remains to be seen, but there’s no question that he has the skills and passion to achieve just that.
Already considered by leading data and analytical site in CIES Football Observatory to have a projected value above that of Liverpool’s new striker (though take that with a pinch of salt, given Isak’s actual price), Rogers is the Midlands outfit’s biggest star, and many feel the best is still to come.