Aston Villa are holding talks to sign the £50m Premier League star

Aston Villa. Europa League d champions and Champions League rivals (again).

Unai Emery changed lives in the Midlands, returning Villa to their place among England’s top players after many years.

It’s fair to say that the Villans not only disrupted but smashed the ‘six hundreds’ in the Premier League, strengthening their grip on promotion.

After all, even if Villa had lost to Freiburg in Istanbul (they didn’t, they won 3-0), their fourth place finish in the Premier League would have qualified them for the Champions League.

Excitement is the overriding feeling heading into 2026/26, but perhaps also a little anxiety, with Morgan Rogers emerging as another Arsenal target.

Aston Villa have rejoined the race for a Premier League midfielder

Rogers is “one of the best players in the world”, according to Sky Sports commentator Jamie Redknapp, and replacing him, if he leaves, will not be easy.

But Aston Villa may have to swallow their pride and sell, putting their faith in Emery to continue to drive this incredible project forward.

He will need to be replaced, however, and NSWE has already earmarked an exciting replacement.

According to Football Insider, Aston Villa and Chelsea are ready to jump back into the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who is set to leave north London for a new challenge this summer.

Bergvall, 20, is expected to fetch around £50m, with Spurs seemingly resigned to letting him leave after fending off inquiries from Villa and Chelsea in January, facing a promotion battle from the Premier League’s relegation zone.

It is now suggested that it will be an ‘open race’ for the Sweden international, and Villa will have to hope that their former base and status as a Champions League club (a status Chelsea are not proud of) will hold sway as they approach the negotiating table.

Why Bergvall could be the brilliant Roger to replace Aston Villa

Bergvall has been at Tottenham for a year and a half. He is still very young, but he turned down Barcelona to sign for Spurs, and is arguably one of the most talented young midfielders in Europe.

With 78 appearances in all competitions, the promising and consistent prospect has proven that he has what it takes to succeed at an outfit like Aston Villa, who can give him a stable platform on which to showcase his talent.

Let’s not forget, Emery has an amazing ability to develop raw prospects, mold them into champions. In February 2024, Aston Villa signed Rogers from Championship club Middlesbrough for just £8m plus add-ons, and despite some viewing the addition as a waste of space, he has now established himself as one of his country’s stars.

Bergvall is not as aggressive as Rogers. Instead, the young Swede floats from box to box, hitting the switch and plowing forward when the situation calls for it.

Times have been tough at Tottenham, but he has shone everywhere, flawless but offering plenty of promise. A natural developer, Bergvall completed 62.5% of his tackles in the Premier League last year, putting him alongside the likes of Rogers as one of the best ball carriers in the division.

He has scored only two goals for Tottenham, but Bergvall has shown a tendency to get forward into dangerous areas, into the box.

Emery has the ability to make him a star, perhaps setting him up in a more elite position than we usually see at Spurs, therefore allowing him to flourish as Rogers’ exciting replacement for Aston Villa.