Middlesbrough forward Morgan Rogers has been the top priority for Aston Villa and their manager Unai Emery this month, and while the player himself has expressed excitement at the idea of making the move, it's descended into something of a saga.
On Monday, it emerged that Villa had been unsuccessful with a third offer for the winger as Boro held firm in their asking price. Michael Carrick's side communicated their demands at the outset and have simply been waiting for the Premier League club to meet them. Rogers had told the club he wanted the transfer, but there was still "work to do", more than a week on from the previous bid. At long last, though, it appears a decisive breakthrough has been made.
Villa finally reach Rogers agreement
Now, according to journalist Keith Downie at Sky Sports, Villa have agreed a fee to sign Rogers from Middlesbrough. It will be a package worth up to £16m when add-ons are included, making him the second-most expensive Premier League addition of the month behind Spurs' Radu Dragusin (£27m).
Boro will regard this as "very good business", especially given that they only paid £1m to sign him last summer, but the main emotion for Villa will be relief. Rogers is now due to undergo a medical "in [the] next 24 hours" with a view to completing the transfer before Thursday's deadline.
Villa complete perfect window but concerns linger
Assuming all goes to plan from here, Emery will be delighted with what Villa have done this month, because they've addressed both of the positions where he felt the squad was light. The manager wanted another right-back to compete with Matty Cash, and Red Star Belgrade's Kosta Nedeljkovic will be able to do that when he arrives in the summer.
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He was also after another body on the flanks after walking away from a summer move for Jack Harrison, and Rogers will fit that bill while also offering him an additional central option too. The only concern for Villa is that they've now committed to another considerable outlay when they were already coming under increasing pressure to balance the books.
Moussa Diaby
£47m
Pau Torres
£28m
Kosta Nedeljkovic
£6.4m
Nicolo Zaniolo
Loan
Clement Lenglet
Loan
Youri Tielemans
Free
Villa will need to sell players before the end of June to comply with the league's Profit and Sustainability Rules, and that could see them lose Jacob Ramsey, although Emery regards an exit for Jhon Duran as preferable. We'll see whether the signing of Rogers prompts any late departures, or whether Villa wait until the summer to address the issue.
