‘Manchester United could sign Morgan Rogers to replace Bruno Fernandes’ in blockbuster latest
Morgan Rogers could be in Manchester United’s sights if Bruno Fernandes exits Old Trafford.
Aston Villa are preparing to take on Chelsea on Saturday evening in a third vs fourth Christmas barnstormer in the Premier League.
Villa’s 2-1 win over Manchester United made it 10 wins on the bounce in all competitions, and ensured Unai Emery’s side kept pace in the title race.
Rogers was the star of the Aston Villa show against United, with his two superbly taken goals seeing his name once again put up in lights.
Morgan Rogers tipped for Manchester United transfer
Given how rapid his ascension has been to one of the Premier League’s biggest stars, transfer talk has understandably been rife for Rogers in recent times.
Manchester United have been linked with a move for Rogers, with the 23-year-old England international potentially facing some tough decisions on his future soon.
A move to Old Trafford would be a fascinating one, and would be sure to cost United a very pretty penny, but it’s one that former Aston Villa defender Joleon Lescott can see happening.
Speaking via the print edition of The Mirror on Friday, Lescott believes that should Fernandes leave the Red Devils after his recent claims they wanted to sell him, then the only player who could replace him would be Rogers.
“I don’t think they’re (Man United) in a position to sell Fernandes,” Lescott said.
“The money would help, but where would they be without him? Regardless of how much they’d get, who you replace him with isn’t guaranteed to be reliable.
“It would be bad business – unless they get Morgan Rogers.”
- Read more: Morgan Rogers could join elite list of two Aston Villa players with Chelsea heroics in store
Rogers would be excellent Fernandes replacement production-wise, but maybe not tactically
Fernandes has been a machine when it comes to producing consistently excellent goal and assist numbers for Manchester United.
Indeed, the Portuguese midfielder has never failed to score less than double-digit goals in a single season since joining the club in January 2020, and has not produced double-digit goals and assists over each of his five full seasons for United so far.
Rogers’ 14 goals and 13 assists last season show that he could be an excellent candidate to replace Fernandes in this regard, but he’s perhaps not as strong an option when it comes to tactics.
- Fernandes has five goals and seven assists in the PL this season, Rogers has seven goals and three assists
- Rogers became first PL player in 27 years to score two or more goals in back-to-back games against Man United
- Rogers has taken 31 shots in the PL this season, with 15 of those being on target
Fernandes is most commonly deployed and is at his best operating from the base of midfield, with Ruben Amorim pushing the likes of Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha further up the pitch.
Rogers, whilst he has shown he can be very effective through the middle, looks to be at his most dangerous when starting from out wide, before driving inside and getting shots off/playing teammates in.
All of this is irrelevant, though, when you consider where Villa are compared to Man United, with a move to Old Trafford not quite what it used to be anymore.
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