Aston Villa eye deal to sign “most exciting player in England”

It’s fair to say Aston Villa hit the jackpot when they paid an initial £8m to sign Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough in early 2024.

The England player, who will play for his country in the World Cup next month, finished the 2025/26 campaign with 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

That marks the second consecutive season of producing 10 or more goals and assists, respectively, after scoring 14 goals and 13 assists in the 2024/25 season.

Rogers has proven that he can make an impact at the end of the pitch regularly for Unai Emery, leading the team to the Champions League final and the Europa League trophy this season.

The task at hand for the Villans, however, is to keep him beyond the summer transfer window, with Manchester United and Arsenal both keen to snap him up.

Aston Villa are eyeing a deal to sign the England international

Losing Rogers, who scored and registered an assist in the Europa League final against Freiburg, would be a significant blow for Villa ahead of next season.

However, Emery and the recruitment team are eyeing a potential signing for the club as their next form of Rogers in the off-season.

According to TEAMtalk, Aston Villa are one of the clubs pursuing a deal to sign Ethan Nwaneri from Arsenal in the next summer transfer window.

The report states that Como, Newcastle United, and Everton are among the other teams eyeing a move for the 19-year-old talent, as they all want a permanent transfer for his services.

It adds that the left-footed star is concerned about what his game time might look like with the Gunners in the 2026/27 campaign, which could open the door to a summer exit at the Emirates.

TEAMtalk does not reveal whether or not Arsenal are willing to sanction a permanent move, or how much they would want if they decide to sell him.

How Ethan Nwaneri could be Aston Villa’s new Morgan Rogers

One of the reasons why Villa’s success with Rogers is so impressive is that he didn’t look like a top-class talent on paper when he moved to the club.

The attacking midfielder had been released by Manchester City and scored just two goals and provided six assists in 26 Championship games, but the Villans recognized his potential and nurtured it well.

Now, Nwaneri finds himself in a similar situation as he finished the season with three goals and one assist in all competitions and is out of favor at Arsenal, but his 90 numbers in Ligue 1 suggest the potential is there for him to be a very good signing.

The 19-year-old ace produced two goals and one assist in nine Ligue 1 games for Marseille after joining them on loan for the second half of the campaign.

Joe Cole once described him as “the most exciting footballer in England and maybe Europe” and he still has a lot of development to go through at a young age, so this could be a good time for Villa to come in.

Nwaneri hasn’t shown the same consistency in the final third all season, like Rogers before his time at the club, but he has shown plenty of encouraging signs.

The England U21 international finished the 2024/25 campaign with a return of nine goals in 37 games in all competitions for Arsenal, including four goals in 11 Premier League starts.

This shows that he has the quality to make an impact in the Premier League and in the big competitions and top teams, but the next step for him is to deliver consistently.

Emery has proven that he can get the best out of talented young players, given the way Rogers’ career at Villa Park has unfolded, and Nwaneri could be his next project.

Therefore, Villa must aim to make the youth maestro a permanent deal as he could be the next-gen for Rogers’ side, possibly softening the blow of the England international’s exit.