‘Big players have always moved’ - Morgan Rogers to Arsenal transfer rumours annoy former Aston Villa striker Tony Cascarino

Europa League glory was savoured in 2025-26, bringing a 30-year wait for major honours to a close, while Champions League qualification was also rubber-stamped by a fourth-place finish. Villa continue to hold their own despite battling through financial red tape.

They may be forced to part with West Midlands native Rogers this summer, as Arsenal are credited with interest in the talented 23-year-old. Villa will not do business without a fight, with one of their most prized assets said to come with a £130 million ($172m) price tag.

Rogers has become a talismanic performer for the Villans, registering 14 goals in each of the last two campaigns, and is currently on World Cup duty with the Three Lions. It is easy to see why Premier League title holders at Emirates Stadium would be keen on doing a deal.

Asked if such a move would make sense to any of the parties involved, ex-Villa frontman Cascarino - speaking on behalf of Tonybet, whose World Cup Card Collection campaign can see Irish customers win up to €100,000 - told GOAL: “I've got this bias towards Villa, but they feel like they're being pulled back by the rules of football - your revenue and what you can create and how much you can spend.

“And yet Villa can clearly compete. But if they're only in a position to go, ‘well, we have to sell them to Arsenal now to do our own business’, I find that a bit of a weird place for football. I don't know how we really got there. It feels the most uneven ground now in football where, like Arsenal last year generated I think 770 million, which enables them to be very aggressive.

“We saw the year before Liverpool spent 400 million. They did sell people as well, but they can be incredibly aggressive where anyone who dares to challenge the top six, it feels like you've got handcuffs on. That's the thing I don't like.

“But big players have always moved. They've always moved just generally in football. I did a piece in the paper at the start of the week and was talking about Elliot Anderson going to City. I just said like in 1979, Steve Daley went for 1.4 million from Wolves to Man City. He lasted two years and went to Seattle Sounders after.

“Obviously I don't think that's going to happen to Elliot Anderson, but these big moves, of course Arsenal would want to take a quality player like Morgan Rodgers. I'm just a bit amazed because I want Villa to be competitive as well.”

Villa have offered no indication that they are ready to cash in on Rogers, with their asking prize said to have Arsenal mulling over alternative options - with the Gunners not entirely convinced that a British record fee represents value for money.

If Emery and Co can convince their creative No.27 to stay put, then he is tied to a contract through to 2031. There may come a day when they are left with little choice but to sell, as fresh starts and new challenges are sought, but there is no guarantee that date will be added to the 2026 sporting calendar.

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