Morgan Rodgers transfer news: Chelsea complete record-breaking £117m deal to sign forward from Aston Villa | football news

Chelsea have signed Morgan Rodgers from Aston Villa in a record-breaking £117m deal.

Rodgers signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge and became the most expensive British player of all time, breaking the record earlier this summer when Elliott Anderson joined Manchester City for £116m.

“I’m very excited,” Rogers said. “For me, Chelsea is the biggest club in London and a club I’ve always admired since I was a kid.

“I’m really excited about the project with the new manager, the players we’ve got and where the club is going. That’s why I’m here and I can’t wait to get started.”

Arsenal had previously identified Rodgers as their top forward target this summer but the Gunners were unwilling to match the fee Chelsea had agreed.

The 23-year-old forward has now left Champions League football with Villa to join Xabi Alonso’s side, who will be without European football until the 2026/27 season.

Versatile Rodgers ‘great signing’ for Chelsea

Former Chelsea midfielder Jodie Morris Sky Sports News:

“It’s a great signing for Chelsea. And perhaps a bit of a surprise – purely because he’s coming from a team that’s playing in the Champions League next year, and obviously looking at reports that (champions) Arsenal were very much after his signature.

“It’s a massive signing. I was a fan of Morgan Rodgers when he was at Man City as a kid. I remember him there and then he really excelled under Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough and then went to another level with Unai Emery at Aston Villa. So, it’s a massive signing, but to say I’m surprised would be an understatement.

“As far as he’s going to play I think it will all depend on how Xabi Alonso wants to play. I think we’re all playing a bit of a guessing game at the moment. He played three at the back at Leverkusen and then not so much at Real Madrid, but I think the beauty of someone like Morgan Rodgers is that he’s a boy.

“I think he can play as a number 10, I think he can play either side of the wing and also – as we saw in the last England game – he’s played almost as a number eight.

“There’s nothing wrong with having versatile players and he’s certainly one of them. He’s a massive, massive talent and now he’ll definitely be joining his old mate Cole Palmer at Chelsea.

“He’s still young but he’s proven it in the Premier League and is a full England international. It’s a big deal.”