Morgan Rogers spotted arriving for Chelsea medical with blockbuster £117m transfer close | OneFootball

England star set to seal huge move straight after return from World Cup as Arsenal miss out

Morgan Rogers is undergoing his medical at Chelsea ahead of a blockbuster £117million transfer from Aston Villa.

Rogers was filmed by Sky Sports arriving for tests on Monday after England’s World Cup squad flew back from the United States at the weekend following their dramatic 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off.

The versatile attacker, 23, is expected to sign a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge lasting until the summer of 2032, with Chelsea having the option to extend it by a further 12 months.

He will become the most expensive British player in football history, quickly eclipsing England midfield colleague Elliot Anderson, who left Nottingham Forest for Manchester City in a deal worth £116m earlier this month.

Statement signing: Chelsea have beaten Arsenal to a £117m deal for England star Morgan Rogers

London Standard

The previous record holder was Declan Rice, who cost £105m when he left West Ham for Arsenal in the summer of 2023.

Rogers will become Chelsea’s new club-record signing, surpassing the £107m spent to sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January 2023.

He will also be the second most expensive player ever in the Premier League, behind only Alexander Isak, who joined Liverpool from Newcastle for £125m last summer.

It is a real statement of intent from the Blues as they begin another new managerial era under Xabi Alonso, with Arsenal widely expected to sign Rogers in this window after making him their top transfer priority.

But Chelsea also held a long-standing interest in Rogers - previously on the books at Manchester City - and swooped quickly to beat their London rivals to a high-profile deal that will also net his former club Middlesbrough more than £20m due to their sell-on clause.

Despite his status as a top-level No10, Rogers is expected to line up regularly on the left wing under Alonso, with Cole Palmer deployed through the middle. Talks with Alonso were key to Rogers deciding to join.

Rogers’ arrival in west London will follow that of Italy right-back Marco Palestra, who joined from Serie A club Atalanta for £47m at the beginning of July.

Portuguese winger Geovany Quenda has also arrived following a £40m deal agreed with Sporting last year, while striker Emmanuel Emegha previously signed a pre-contract agreement to join this summer from sister club Strasbourg.

He is said to have scored on his debut at the weekend as Chelsea beat League Two side Crawley 3-1 in Alonso’s first game in charge - a surprise friendly held behind-closed-doors at their Cobham training ground.

Other arrivals at Chelsea so far this summer include Kazakh wonderkid Dastan Satpaev, while the club have been locked in talks over Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria after agreeing to sell World Cup winner Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid for £51.7m.

Other sales include Andrey Santos to Manchester United for £50m and Tyrique George to Everton for £24m. Chelsea are also pushing to sign France centre-back Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace.