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MORG THE MERRIER! Chelsea strike blockbuster £117m Rogers transfer with Arsenal set to miss out on England star
Jul 18 2026 18:47 · By Daniel Marsh,Senior Sports Reporter · 47 Reads
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Chelsea are on the cusp of sealing a deal worth £117million for Morgan Rogers in what would be one of the summer's biggest transfers.
Rogers, 23, has emerged as one of the most sought-after attackers in Europe after another dazzling season with
Aston Villa
and was always expected to move for a significant transfer fee after the World Cup.
Arsenal
had seemed to be the most likely destination for the former Middlesbrough star and are known to be huge admirers of Rogers.
But it is
Chelsea
who have now struck a verbal agreement to sign Rogers for a fee of £117m, with the player relishing the prospect of linking up with Chelsea's new manager, Xabi Alonso.
With Stamford Bridge Rogers' preferred destination, the player has already agreed terms on a six-year contract and a medical is pencilled in for Monday.
Rogers started and notched an assist in England's heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina and could be in action again tonight in the third-place play-off with France.
The transfer will trigger a huge windfall for Rogers former club, Middlesbrough, who included a 20 per cent sell-on clause into the deal which took the attacking midfielder to Villa Park for an initial £7m with a further £8m in add-ons back in the 2024 winter window.
Landing Rogers is the first major win for Alonso, who agreed to become Chelsea's new manager earlier this year.
The Spaniard will attempt to restore Chelsea's position in the upper echelons of the
Premier League
and get them challenging for major honours again following a challenging 2025-26 campaign which saw them finish 10th.
Rogers should further enhance Chelsea's attacking output after accumulating 14 goals and 12 assists across 55 games for Aston Villa last season in all competitions, helping them win the
Europa League
.
Not only will Rogers become Chelsea's club-record signing, with the deal surpassing the £107m agreement that brought Enzo Fernandez to Stamford Bridge, but he will also become the most expensive British footballer of all time ahead of his England colleague, Elliot Anderson.