£60m could be enough for Aston Villa to sign their next iteration of Rogers

Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers is in danger of becoming the most expensive English footballer in history, as he closes in on his exit from the club.

Chelsea have agreed a deal worth £117m to sign the England international from the Villans, surpassing the £116m Manchester City paid for Elliot Anderson and the £100m City previously paid for Villa’s Jack Grealish.

The Blues look set to beat Premier League champions Arsenal in the race to sign the 23-year-old attacking midfielder, who can play as a number ten or out wide.

Villa, of course, have signed Johan Manzambi from Freiburg to operate as a central or attacking midfielder, but they need another attacking player to replace Rogers.

Why Aston Villa still need to replace Rogers after signing Manzambi

The Swiss international is one of the most exciting players in the squad after scoring seven goals in 47 games for Freiburg last season, and scored three goals in four appearances for his country at the World Cup.

However, he has never scored more than seven goals in a career season, or hit double figures in assists, and it remains to be seen if he can replace the level of production provided by Rogers on that end of the floor.

The England international has recorded double figures in goals or assists in the past two Premier League seasons with Unai Emery’s Villans, which speaks volumes for his consistency in the final third.

Rogers has provided quality as a goal scorer and regular creator, making him a constant threat to the Villa opposition’s goal, while Manzambi has yet to show that he can hit that level.

That is why the Villans need to return to the market to add attacking quality to their squad before the start of the Premier League season next month.

Aston Villa are in talks to sign a new striker in Rogers’ shadows

Now, a deal to sell Rogers to Chelsea in the coming days seems to have thrown away the chance to land a star player worth around £117m.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reports that Aston Villa are interested in signing Nicolas Jackson from Xabi Alonso’s side in the summer transfer window.

The reporter says that the Villans are in talks with Chelsea about the departure of the Senegalese player, whose name will come up when they discuss Rogers.

Romano added that Emery ‘loves’ the striker, who he worked with at Villarreal, and reports earlier this summer suggested he could be worth around £60m.

The Senegal star, who played 27 times for Emery at Villarreal, spent two seasons in the Premier League with Chelsea before being loaned to Bayern Munich, scoring 24 goals and 14 ‘chances’.

Although his finishing quality was questionable, as he did not perform well against his xG, Jackson was always a threat to opposition defenses as a scorer and goal creator.

He may not be an attacking midfielder, like Rogers, but he is a versatile striker who can play on the left side, cut in on his right foot, or in his preferred role as a striker, meaning Emery can use him in a number of different positions.

Jackson, who scored a hat-trick against Spurs, is a successful player because he can score and assist goals at an impressive rate, and has proven himself in the Premier League, unlike Manzambi.

The 25-year-old, hailed as “unbelievable” by Peter Crouch, could be a ‘replacement’ for Rogers, despite not playing in exactly the same position, as he has the ability to convert goals and assist the Englishman to provide.

Having Manzambi to replace Rogers at number ten and Jackson to take his place at the back of the pitch would mean the Villans have effectively replaced the £117m star with two new signings.