Morgan Rogers must start for Aston Villa v Chelsea as John McGinn shares ‘outstanding’ verdict
Morgan Rogers must be included in the starting XI as Aston Villa face Chelsea at Villa Park after John McGinn labelled him “outstanding” for his performances after arriving in January.
Rogers has scored twice and provided one assist in nine Premier League appearances so far since arriving from Middlesbrough, and has stunned his captain with his displays.
Unai Emery reportedly made Rogers’ arrival a priority in the January transfer window and he is already reaping the rewards of his decision. He must continue to do so against Chelsea.
Speaking to Birmingham Live [27 April], McGinn gushed: “His confidence is growing, he’s so strong, so powerful, he’s even surprised me a bit when he first signed and his first time in training.
“But the last three or four games he’s been outstanding. That’s great to see, he’s playing football with a smile on his face and I wish I was that good at his age.”
Morgan Rogers must start for Aston Villa v Chelsea
Rogers was one of the standout players as the Villa attackers put in a tremendous display in the 3-1 win against Bournemouth last time out, scoring his second-ever Premier League goal and surely cementing himself in the team.
Alongside his goal, the winger recorded a 50 per cent long pass accuracy, completed 75 per cent of his attempted dribbles and found the net with his only shot on target of the game while his other effort failed to hit the target. [Sofascore]
On top of that, Rogers drew two fouls, won five of his nine attempted ground duels and made one tackle to help his team out defensively as much as he did going forward.
Prior to this display, he had come off the bench to replace the injured Nicolo Zaniolo in the Conference League clash with Lille, in which he picked up two key passes, a 100 per cent dribble success rate and a 100 per cent long pass success rate in 92 minutes of football.
Given his strong form of late, Emery must hand him the opportunity to continue his impressive performances by starting at Villa Park with the club’s hopes of securing Champions League qualification still on the line.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery has received a “huge” boost ahead of the clash.
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