Aston Villa ‘prepared to let Morgan Rogers leave’ amid Lucas Paqueta developments
Aston Villa have held off any interest in Morgan Rogers so far this summer.
Rogers has been subject to increased speculation over his Villa Park future, with Aston Villa chief Damian Vidagany speaking out against claims that Tottenham had made contact.
Premier League rivals could test the waters over a sale in the coming days, with Villa’s financial issues being well-documented.
Villa are believed to want over £80million for Rogers, and they appear to already be looking at a replacement.
Villa News presents the exclusive opinion of iconic football commentator Ian Darke.
Villa could let Rogers go to fund Lucas Paqueta move
Lucas Paqueta has emerged as an Aston Villa target in the last few days, and he looks set to be left out of the squad for the Hammers clash with Nottingham Forest as a result.
Darke believes that a move for Paqueta could lead to the Villans sanctioning an exit for the 22-year-old, despite his importance to Unai Emery’s squad.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, he said: “I’ll tell you what I would find interesting, if they suddenly sign Paqueta, it will make me think that they are prepared to let Morgan Rogers go, he might be a replacement in the squad.
“I don’t think he has got the running power of Rogers or the youthfulness, he does blow hot and cold a bit, on his day, he is outrageously talented and can win a game for you.
“There are other games where he does go missing a bit, I am not sure how good a signing he would actually be for Villa and whether he would fit Emery’s management style and what he looks for in players.
“The fact that he is hot and cold is one of the problems that West Ham have got, they need him to be hot eight times out of 10, not five or six.”
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Lucas Paqueta would need to solve his inconsistency at Aston Villa
Villa cannot afford to carry passengers; if they are to make it back into the Champions League, they cannot afford for Paqueta to be inconsistent.
| Stats | Rogers | Paqueta |
| Matches | 54 | 36 |
| Goals | 14 | 5 |
| Assists | 16 | 0 |
| Minutes played | 4,496 | 2,536 |
Rogers performs weekly and notched a stunning 14 goals and 16 assists in 54 matches in all competitions in a superb breakout campaign.
Losing him and replacing him with Paqueta, as Darke suggests, would be a terrible idea, as the Brazil star cannot match that output.
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