Morgan Rodgers joins Aston Villa from Middlesbrough in 2024, but the Championship club could make a huge profit if the England star moves in the summer
Morgan Rodgers remains Aston Villa’s star (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Morgan Rodgers is attracting £100m of interest from a number of clubs and Middlesbrough could potentially pay a world record fee if he leaves Aston Villa.
The England ace continues to go from strength to strength at Villa Park. He has been a shining light as the club aim to return to the Champions League under manager Unai Emery. That would ease the financial burden, but Villa could still face a battle to retain the manager.
PSG, along with Manchester United and Arsenal, are eyeing a move for Rodgers, with a transfer fee of around £100m being mooted. This is comparable to the amount Villa paid when they sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City.
If that happens, Middlesbrough could be on the hook for a huge payday as they aim for promotion from the Championship. The 23-year-old has made incredible progress since Boro signed him from Manchester City in 2023 for just £1.5m.
He was on Teesside for just a few months before Villa paid Boro £16m, with the move understood to include a 20 per cent sell-on clause, The Sun reported. This means the Championship side could set aside up to £20m if PSG or any of their rivals pull off this move.
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The fee will match the 20 per cent paid by Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle when Moises Caicedo moved from Brighton to Chelsea for £100m. Middlesbrough’s head of football, Kieran Scott, previously insisted: “I won’t reveal the amount, but I think it’s going to be a pretty good deal for the club. For a player who has played for us for five-and-a-half months, it’s going to end up being a great deal.”
Middlesbrough hope to become a Premier League club next season with the aim of gaining promotion. They sit third in the Championship for the first time since 2018, but time is running out to completely overwhelm Ipswich, who occupy the last automatic promotion spot.
Morgan Rodgers has been hugely impressive during his short stay at Middlesbrough (Image: Ian Tuttle/REX/Shutterstock)
Villa themselves are in a strong position to negotiate Rodgers’ future. The England star signed a new long-term contract last year until 2031, with five years remaining on his contract. Rodgers made 115 appearances for Villa, scoring 27 goals and providing 21 assists.
Since Emery took over, the Midlands squad has been able to retain top talent. Despite interest from the likes of Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins, the pair remain at Villa Park and are now keen to alert Rodgers to their interest.
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