West Ham 2-3 Aston Villa: Offers will come once more for Morgan Rogers if he retains enjoying like this – however here is why he would possibly decide to remain put, writes TOM COLLOMOSSE
No wonder Aston Villa resisted all interest in Morgan Rogers last summer. No wonder co-owner Nassef Sawiris wanted an offer in excess of £100million to make him even think about coming to the table.
When Rogers made an alarmingly slow start to the season, that price tag seemed unrealistic. Since then, the 23-year-old has recovered his best form, become a starter for England and now struck a stunning winner to keep Villa just three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Cheap at twice the price.
Twice Villa trailed to West Ham, thanks to goals from Mateus Fernandes and Jarrod Bowen, but an own-goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos and a close-range effort from Rogers brought them level on each occasion. Then Rogers’ brilliant dipping strike from 25 yards sealed their 10th win in 11 league games.
Signed for just £10million in January 2024, Rogers was one of the breakout stars of last season and attracted interest from the elite. Yet with Villa wanting a fee higher than the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish five years ago, it is thought no formal bid was ever made, despite strong interest from Chelsea and Tottenham.
Rogers was undoubtedly unsettled during the early part of the campaign – as is surely natural for a player who has risen so far, so fast. He even took stick from Villa fans online and in the ground. Yet since Villa showed faith in Rogers by rewarding him with a new deal to take him beyond the £100,000-a-week mark, he has scarcely looked back. The abiding image of the day was Rogers revving up the travelling fans at full-time and dancing with delight alongside Amadou Onana and Jadon Sancho.
The offers will come again for Rogers next summer, especially if he performs well at the World Cup. But with Villa in this form, Rogers may decide that he can achieve his ambitions by staying exactly where he is.
Morgan Rogers is back to his best with Aston Villa and scored twice as his side beat West Ham
He netted his side’s third goal of the game with an impressive effort from distance late on
Midfield duo show promise
On the day West Ham paid tribute to Billy Bonds, Soungoutou Magassa and Freddie Potts delivered the sort of courageous midfield performances that would have impressed their former skipper.
This was West Ham’s first home game since the passing of Bonds, who died on November 30. Before the match, Bonds’ daughters, Claire and Katie, walked on to the field with Sir Trevor Brooking and Alvin Martin, carrying a floral display in the shape of Bonds’ No4 shirt. A giant tifo of ‘Bonzo’ was shown before kick-off.
It will be difficult for any West Ham player to have even half as good a career as Bonds did here. Yet the display of Magassa, alongside homegrown player Freddie Potts, was full of promise. Up against two of the best in the league in Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, Magassa more than held his own. Potts was decent too, indirectly creating the second goal for Bowen and with Tielemans and John McGinn. At one point, Potts shoved the Belgian to the deck as they duelled in the middle.
These players have some way to go to hit the levels of Kamara and Tielemans but they look like a pair Nuno Espirito Santo can rely on. And in the heat of a relegation battle, that is worth a great deal.
Villa’s January pressure point
All the noises coming from Villa Park indicate that the club will have little room for manoeuvre during the January transfer window. Villa face a constant reckoning with Premier League and UEFA spending rules and are unlikely to reprise last winter, when they bought Donyell Malen and signed Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi on loan.
Yet Unai Emery is always striving for more, especially if the club remain competitive in the Premier League and Europa League. The Villa boss will demand regular updates from his transfer chief Roberto Olabe about what deals can be done. If Villa believe they can strengthen the squad through loans or swaps, they will do so.
Daily Mail Sport understands Emery would still like a wide attacker who can operate on either flank – hardly a vote of confidence in Evann Guessand or Sancho, who joined last summer but both started on the bench here. Brazilian youngster Alysson will join in January but Emery may want a player who will need no adaptation time. It will be fascinating to see what Villa try to do.
Villa are keen to add a wide attacker to their ranks in January but will have little room for work
Better will be needed from West Ham if they are to make sure they avoid relegation
Relegation battle could go to wire
In recent seasons we have grown accustomed to relegation battles being done and dusted long before the end of the campaign, as Championship clubs struggle to make the jump to the top flight.
Not this time. Both Sunderland and – to a lesser extent – Leeds United are competitive, meaning better will be needed from Nottingham Forest, West Ham and even Brentford and Fulham to stay out of trouble.
West Ham should not lose heart. They competed for long spells against the league’s form team and were probably worth a point. But the days of being able to cruise to safety in the second half of the season are long gone.
