Arsenal have their sights set on Morgan Rodgers, but Aston Villa are unwilling to sell and have offered an astronomical price for the England star before considering letting him go.
Morgan Rodgers has just enjoyed his best season yet at Aston Villa (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Arsenal will have to pay a record fee for Morgan Rodgers if they want to sign him after Aston Villa made a bid.
Although the England star is currently not taking part in the World Cup, he still attracts significant interest from a number of Premier League teams. The champions believe they are at the front of the queue but are said to have to pay £130m to sign the playmaker.
This is £5m more than what Liverpool paid to sign Alexander Isak 12 months ago, and Villa believe Rodgers is a more expensive asset than Elliott Anderson, who is due to join Manchester City for £116m in the coming days.
Villa ultimately do not want to sell their star man, who scored 14 goals last season. Their assessment also takes into account the fact that he will have to hand over 20 per cent of his transfer fee to Middlesbrough due to a sell-on clause in his contract in the 2024 winter transfer window.
Unai Emery’s side have just returned to the Champions League and won their first Europa League trophy in 30 years, but selling Rodgers is certain to halt their momentum.
Arsenal are keen to strengthen their attacking options, highlighted in the Champions League final against PSG, but it remains to be seen whether they will pay £130m for Rodgers. Their current contract record is the £105 million they paid to sign Declan Rice from West Ham.
Rodgers, like Anderson, is on his way to becoming a regular for England, but Rodgers has just helped a European team win Europe. City’s rivals have always feared that pursuing Anderson would inflate his market price, as the club are based on his £116m fee.
Morgan Rodgers is the subject of strong interest from Arsenal (Image: Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Arsenal have not made any additions this summer, but Mikel Arteta has admitted his wait for Premier League glory is finally over and he wants to move on to the next level. Rodgers will praise the squad, which already features England team-mates Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke.
“We will start making some very important decisions. We want to reach another level,” said the Arsenal manager. “They are more than capable of doing that, so we have to show that ambition, but it requires us to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.”
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