Alan Hutton has warned that Aston Villa would face a significant challenge in replacing Morgan Rogers, even if the club were to receive £100 million from his sale. The 23-year-old has attracted interest from several clubs, most notably Arsenal, who are expected to make a move for him in the near future.
Villa's Valuation and Sell-On Clause
Reports suggest that Villa would not consider letting Rogers leave for anything less than £100 million, given the inflated state of the transfer market and the fact that Middlesbrough hold a 20 per cent sell-on clause. This means Villa would net only £80 million from any sale at that price.
Hutton's Warning on Replacement Difficulty
Hutton believes that, despite the substantial fee Villa could receive, replacing a player of Rogers' quality would be far from straightforward. Rogers has become a key figure in Unai Emery’s side, and finding a player capable of matching his influence and potential would be extremely challenging.
"Rogers is a big loss because you have to replace him. You might say, oh, we're getting £100 million but you have to replace him," Hutton told PariuriX.com. "I thought, from the recruitment point of view, to bring him in from Middlesbrough, you're thinking to yourself, right, well, let's just see how he does. You're not really expecting him to hit those heights as early on as he has. So to lose someone of that stature within the squad who gets on with everybody, he's a good guy within the camp, would be a huge loss."
Rogers' Character and Impact
Hutton highlighted the importance of Rogers' personality in the dressing room. "The likes of John McGinn talk about him and how he's down to earth. His success has not changed him any. You need characters like that, and you need people with talent like that to kind of take you to the next level. So to lose him, it's going to be very difficult to replace, I feel."
Currently representing England at the World Cup, Rogers has been used by Thomas Tuchel as an impact player, with Jude Bellingham winning a starting berth ahead of him.
Rogers' England Situation
"I do feel for Morgan Rogers because a lot of the talk before the World Cup was about who was going to play in the number ten between him and Jude Bellingham," Hutton added. "Bellingham is a fantastic player, and his performances for Real Madrid are great, and something can always happen when he is involved. Unfortunately, if you are Morgan Rogers, you just have to wait for the opportunity to come. We know he can go in and show the fans and the manager what he is capable of. When he gets that opportunity, he can't let it go. So far, it is not really his fault he is not playing, the manager has just gone another direction. But when he gets the opportunity, it is up to him to take it. I really feel he has the quality to deliver."
