Morgan Rogers endured an evening to forget when facing Bologna in the Europa League, despite seeing Aston Villa battle their way to a much-needed 1-0 win. The England international has been struggling for form at the start of the 2025-26 campaign and was ironically cheered by his own supporters as some wayward passing fell under the microscope at Villa Park.
GettyRogers enjoyed meteoric rise to prominence
Rogers has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence, going from a loan spell at Blackpool in January 2023 to making his senior international debut for England in November 2024. A transfer from Middlesbrough to Villa helped to make that ascent possible. The 23-year-old playmaker settled quickly after making his way to the West Midlands.
His creative qualities were put to good use by Unai Emery, with Rogers showcasing his ball-carrying skills on a regular basis. He also registered 14 goals for the Villans across all competitions last season – a personal-best return by quite some distance – and won the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
AdvertisementPassing stats: Where Rogers went wrong vs Bologna
Rogers is yet to get off the mark on the goal front in 2025-26, with Villa struggling for end product as a collective. They were able to find the target, courtesy of captain John McGinn, during a continental clash with Serie A side Bologna. Emery’s troops mustered just four efforts on target, though, over the course of that contest.
Rogers was partly responsible for their failure to carve open more opportunities. He completed just 10 of 24 attempted passes on the night, leaving him with a success rate of 42 per cent, and emerged victorious in only four of the 12 duels that he contested – with physicality considered to be another useful string to his bow.
With too many passes going astray, Rogers was subjected to ironic cheers when completing one against Bologna late in the game. Those in the stands have grown tired of inconsistent performances at the start of the new domestic and continental season.
Getty Images SportEmery & Konsa understand frustration in the stands
Emery can understand the frustration which has built up in the crowd, telling reporters when asked about the jeers being aimed in Rogers’ direction: "The fans have to show their emotions. We have to accept it. They applaud us and sometimes not. We have to accept it. Morgan is young and needs time for experiences.
"I kept him on the field because I wanted his reaction, how he was accepting everything and he did it. He didn’t play well and wasn’t clinical in the attacking third to do the last assist, but I wanted to keep him because, firstly, he’s always doing his task. (He was) working for the team, but today he was not being clinical offensively. He needs to take experiences today, not playing every game well, the crowd not being happy with him and him getting his experiences and grow up through it."
Rogers’ Villa and England team-mate Ezri Konsa told of needing to meet the extracting standards of a demanding fan base: "The crowd can be tricky here. When things aren’t going well, it is important the fans stay with us. You can see at times they got a bit frustrated, especially with some of our players, but we have to be able to deal with that."
World Cup quest: Big challenge for Rogers in 2025-26
Despite seeing Rogers endure an uncharacteristic dip at the start of the new season, Villa still hold him in high regard. A new contract has been mooted for the talented midfielder, with fresh terms set to reflect his value to the collective cause and reward his standing as a full international – with an improved salary set to come his way. Villa have seen Rogers generate talk of interest from leading sides across Europe.
He must prove deserving of a new deal, with there plenty for him to play for across the 2025-26 campaign. Competition for places in Thomas Tuchel’s plans is fierce – with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White also battling for playmaking spots – and high standards will be required in order to make England’s squad for next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
