Over the weekend, Aston Villa produced one of their best displays of the season when they beat Bournemouth 3-1.
To think that, only days before, the team had played 120 minutes in France to progress in the Europa Conference League semi-final and showcased no signs of tiredness, lack of concentration or slackness is pretty impressive.
It further proves that Unai Emery, who recently signed a new contract, has these Aston Villa players drilled to near perfection.
Villa fans already knew that because it is being displayed week in and week out. That’s why the team is heading towards the Champions League.
It has also been proven by the performances and rapid development of one certain, Morgan Rogers.
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Villa signed the 21-year-old from Championship side Middlesbrough in January and, in the first few weeks, he spent several games on the bench, and at times, not even coming on.
That was expected because of his age, new surroundings, and the fact that he had joined a team midway through the season and jumped from mid-table in the Championship to the top of the table in the Premier League.
Yet, fast forward to the present, and Stephen Warnock believes Rogers is learning ‘very quickly’ at his new club, as he told The Football Show on Sky Sports (22/04/24 at 12:30 pm).
The former left-back highlighted his latest performance against Bournemouth, the equalising goal that started the comeback and his overall display.
Morgan Rogers’ development under Unai Emery
“It does (look like a shrewd bit of business),” said Warnock about Rogers. “What I like about him is that he is learning very quickly.
“What you have to learn in the Premier League is that if you don’t understand the defensive side of the game, then you won’t play, especially for a manager like Unai Emery. You have to do that side of the game.
“But this is what he is brilliant at (running with the ball). I mean the footwork here, how quickly he shifts it across (for his goal against Bournemouth). I am guessing he is around 6ft. He is a tall lad. He is almost built like a rugby winger. The size of him. But he glides across the pitch and has great footwork. He has settled in and that is a credit to the scouting at Aston Villa to believe that he can make that step from the Championship at Middlesbrough to the Premier League.”
Bright future for Morgan Rogers
This isn’t a one-off from the player. He has been performing at the top of his game for weeks now.
That’s back-to-back home games he has scored in and don’t be surprised if he makes it three in three against Chelsea at the weekend – he scored against the London club for Boro earlier on in the campaign when competing in the League Cup.
The amazing thing about what Rogers is doing is the type of performances he is putting in now, you probably expected that in 12 months, not now.
So, it’s pretty exciting to see what is coming for next season when he has got a pre-season under his belt and has settled in further.
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