Morgan Rogers just got called up to the England national team and will try to earn his first international cap. He’s also considered one of the Premier League’s up and coming young talents featuring often for an Aston Villa side who is also in the Champions League. The crazy part about all this? He is only 22. Considering he’s plied his trade in the lower English leagues for most of his footballing career, that’s quite an accomplishment. He has not had exactly the wonderkid rise that is typical, but his future looks extremely bright. How did he get to this point?
Early Career
Born on July 26th 2002, Morgan Rogers grew up in Halesowen, England. He started his footballing career in the West Bromwich Albion academy as an under nine and stays there until 2019. He made one appearance for the West Bromwich Albion senior team coming on as an 82nd minute substitute in the FA Cup against Brighton Hove and Albion. After an appearance against Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup semifinal with West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City were impressed enough that they were able to secure his signature in the 2019 summer transfer window. He stayed in the Manchester City academy until 2021 when he was sent on loan to Lincoln City.
Lower League Career
After arriving at Lincoln City during the January 2021 transfer window, Rogers really saw his career start to take off. He made his first appearance for Lincoln City against Peterborough United a few days after e arrived at the club. His first professional goal came against Portsmouth. The biggest accomplishment of that stint at Lincoln City was winning the EFL Player of the Month award after scoring three goals in seven games. Lincoln City finished fifth in League One in this season. They defeated Sunderland in the semifinals 3-2 on aggregate, but unfortunately couldn’t get past Blackpool at Wembley, losing 2-1.
His next move was another loan spell at AFC Bournemouth in August of 2021. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the most productive move as he only scored one goal and made a singular start for the club. AFC Bournemouth did finish 2nd in the Championship that season and got promoted to the Premier League. He returned to the Manchester City academy after the season and stayed there until the 2023 January transfer window. During that window, he left to join Blackpool until the end of the season. While he made thirteen starts for Blackpool, he only managed to bag a goal and an assist during his time there. Tragically for Blackpool, they were relegated from the Championship after this season.
In the 2023 summer transfer window, Rogers signed with Middlesbrough FC for an undisclosed fee. In the Championship, Rogers scored 2 goals and had six assists. However, he had was in peak form in the Carabao Cup as he scored five goals for Middlesbrough in their semifinal run in the competition. That run of form in the Cup made him the competition’s top goal scorer. This attracted the attention of many Premier League clubs including Aston Villa.
Aston Villa and International Career
As Rogers grew up only 45 minutes from Birmingham and was an Aston Villa fan as a kid, he, of course, was very interested in their advances to sign him. Eventually, he did sign with Aston Villa for what was an undisclosed fee. It has been reported the fee was around eight million pounds and could rise to as much as fifteen million pounds with extra add ons. Manchester City added a 25% sell on percentage clause in the contract when Middlesbrough signed Rogers as well. He started 8 games for Aston Villa and scored three goals and contributed an assist as Aston Villa finished fourth to end the 2023-2024 campaign fourth in the Premier League. With that finish, Aston Villa qualified for the 2024-2025 Champions League. In the 2024-2025 season so far, Rogers has started all eleven games and has delivered three goals and two assists. Currently, Aston Villa sits ninth in the Premier League and eighth in the Champions League. In the Champions League, Rogers has started all four matches, but he has only provided an assist so far.
In his international career, Rogers has participated in the English youth system as an under fifteen and risen through the ranks. In total, he has made 48 appearances for the England youth teams and scored 25 goals. This past week, he got his first call up to the England senior team, and he hopes to earn his first cap as England plays two Nations League matches in the current international break.
The rise of Morgan Rogers is quite a fascinating story. Watching this steady climb through the ranks, not only in the club sense, but also internationally, is quite inspiring. Morgan Rogers shows that if one works hard and keeps at his craft, any person can truly achieve their dreams, no matter how lofty they be