Monchi explains how he had to look beyond Morgan Rogers' history before bringing him on Aston Villa.
AS has an interview with the Spanish director today As he moves on to Espanyol, he is looking to turn them around in the same way he has done with clubs in the past.
Morgan Rogers' success
The Spaniard is seen as a transfer guru after successful spells at Sevilla. He created the best team in their history and won several European trophies with Unai Emery. He was equally successful in the market during his brief tenure at Aston Villa.
Working under difficult financial circumstances due to PSR and UEFA regulations, Monchi was still able to secure several players, who have progressed under the guidance of Unai Emery.
Chief among them is Morgan Rogers. He signed from Middlesbrough for an initial £8 million, but became a star under the Spanish coach.
The 23-year-old is now widely regarded as one of the best in the Premier League and an outright England international. Indeed, he is likely to compete with Jude Bellingham for a starting spot in Thomas Tuchel's squad at the World Cup this summer.
Aston Villa argument at Espanyol
He is now worth €90m. And he is also being linked with teams like Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Monchi is taking credit for finding him. And now he has revealed he had to look beyond Rodgers' past failures when signing for Aston Villa.
"With globalization, it is already very difficult to find top players for one or two million," He said.
"More than taking risks, I have to make decisions based on what they could be. Not based on what they are. Bet on a kid who for whatever reason hasn't been successful at Brighton or Pisa, but about whom we have a good track record to report.
"I've done it before. Technically Ever Banega is the best player I've ever had, and he was sidelined at Valencia. Morgan Rodgers was ousted at City. He didn't succeed at Blackpool or Bournemouth. Today he's one of the top five players for the England national team."
🇮🇹Matias Sule | Player wants transfer to Aston Villa ➡️ Agent visits training ground for talks https://t.co/KptrKYapYp #avfc
- Sports Witness (@Sport_Witness) 12 June 2026
