Why Aston Villa are spot on with Morgan Rogers' message, Arsenal need to understand that
Aston Villa have been widely criticised for slapping a £130million price tag on Morgan Rogers.
There's no hiding the fact that the Villans have had their problems with finances over the years.
That has once again reared it's ugly head with a £6.4m fine from UEFA for breaching SCR which could reach upto £28m.
That is just the latest in a long line of sanctions in B6 for various monetary issues.
Jacob Ramsey's sale last summer was required to negate further punishments, summing up everything wrong at Villa Park.
Many believed that Rogers could be the next big-money sale to balance the books, but a £130m price proves that they aren't messing around.
Morgan Rogers is worth £130m to Aston Villa
Fans from up and down the Premier League have poked fun at Villa for even suggesting such a high asking fee.
Sorry to break the fourth wall here, but that is the point.
Rogers is one of Villa's best players and is easily their most valuable asset after signing him from Middlesbrough in 2024.
He is a fully fledged England international and after 50 goal involvements in two seasons, he is putting up stellar numbers in the Premier League and in Europe.
According to many associated with the so-called "big six" seem to believe that even £80m would be too much.
That may make sense to them, but why would Villa let their star man go for what these clubs believe is 'fair'.
The Villans need to look after themselves and by setting a £130m asking price for Rogers, they have done exactly that.
Arsenal now know exactly where they stand in Rogers race
The Premier League champions want the 23-year-old and that doesn't come as a surprise.
The thing is, they aren't looking to take him from a struggling outfit, Villa are Europa League winners and have finished fourth in the Premier League in two of the last three seasons.
Considering Nottingham Forest have just bagged £116m for Elliot Anderson, it's fair to say the claret and blue outfit are in a strong bargaining position.
That should be the clearest possible message that Arsenal and any other interested party can receive.
It's £130m, pay it or move on.
There's no need for the Villans to change their stance on that, regardless of what fans away from B6 might think.
Villa have learned from the sale of Jack Grealish that your best player is worth what he's worth to you and not what someone else is willing to pay.
Should Rogers move on, it will be for a record fee and allow Unai Emery to make some sizable changes to his team.
If he doesn't, the number 27 will only get better and continue to be as good as he has been since moving to B6.