Middlesbrough are considering Aston Villa’s latest offer for attacker Morgan Rogers after the Premier League club tabled their latest £15 million bid, according to The Northern Echo.
The Championship club have had to field interest for the 21-year-old throughout the month, with Villa having seen their previous two offers rejected. However, the West Midlands outfit are refusing to give up on their primary transfer target and reports emerged this afternoon that they had returned to the table with a deal that could be worth up to £15 million including add-ons.
Rogers only joined Boro last summer from treble winners Manchester City after several successful loan spells throughout the EFL. He has been a huge hit at the Riverside, having scored seven goals and contributed nine assists in 33 appearances across all competitions this season.
As such, Villa have identified the former England youth international as a player they wish to bolster their squad as they target a place in the Premier League top four, as well as success in the Europa Conference League.
The Northern Echo state that Villa’s latest offer is closer to that which would tempt Boro into selling and discussions over the potential transfer will continue over the next 24 hours. As such, chairman Steve Gibson is considering the approach and how to engineer the best possible outcome for the club.
West Ham United are also credited with interest, although the Hammers are said to have not followed up their initial approach after holding talks with Middlesbrough last week.
A £15 million fee would represent a significant profit for Michael Carrick’s team, who paid just £1.5 million to land the former Lincoln City loanee last summer. With Middlesbrough’s fixture against Birmingham City postponed yesterday due to the Blues’ exploits in the FA Cup, Rogers could have made his last appearance for the club last week in the 6-1 defeat against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi final.
Writer’s View
It appears as if a breakthrough in this deal has finally been made following Aston Villa’s near-month long pursuit of the 21-year-old. The Premier League club have been unwilling to give up on their man and it now looks as if it is just a matter of time before the winger makes his move to Villa Park.
Although Middlesbrough will be pleased to have made significant profit on a player they have only had on their books for a matter of months, it will be a disappointment to Michael Carrick. Rogers has been a key player throughout the season and his ability could be the difference between making the play-offs or not come May.
Head of Writing
