“I’m not saying he was never hungry, but he’s more now,” says Ash Belgrave, Morgan Rogers’ brother.
Belgrave is a full-time football coach, specialising in working with players individually. “Morgan had a few weeks off at the end of last season. We went to Miami and Vegas. He enjoyed himself but was up at 9am to train at 10am in 40-degree heat.”
Rogers, joined by a handful of friends and his brother, hired pitches in the States. The 22-year-old was still in a rehabilitation phase after suffering a hamstring injury in May, bringing an end to his first six months at Aston Villa.
This meant work had to be shaped around a gradual rebuilding of Rogers’ physical condition, strictly following Villa’s training programme.
He spent four days in Miami before heading to Vegas, viewed as a holiday and pre-conditioning camp before a training block in Portugal. Back home, Rogers has hired a personal chef during the week to help with his diet and nutritional intake.
Rogers has made concerted efforts to vindicate Unai Emery’s desire to sign him in January. The move was initially seen as unanticipated and overpriced given he had only joined Middlesbrough six months earlier and, despite a bank of experience in the Football League, pulled up few trees.
“I wanted him to stay at Middlesbrough and go at the end of the season, but you cannot say no to Villa,” says Belgrave.
Emery spotted a player who could be refined. Villa academy manager Mark Harrison and head of talent identification Steve Hopcroft, who first identified Rogers and coached him at West Brom, had helped Emery build extensive background knowledge.
Harrison and Hopcroft regarded Rogers as the most talented academy player they had worked with, capable of playing in any of the front six positions and eventually being sold for a club-record figure to Manchester City in 2019.
Rogers celebrates scoring against Brentford (Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
“He had a very good left foot,” says Bob Hickman, a coach at Rogers’ first junior team, Halas Hawks. “He was five and could hit the ball over a full-sized crossbar. It was incredible how he kicked the ball. I knew an Aston Villa scout and I phoned him up to say, ‘Come down and see this lad’ and introduced him to his mum. But he was training with Albion and happy there.
“Even though he was so young when he was with us, Morgan sent a video for our presentation evening at the end of last season. It was great of him to do that.”
Villa players knew of Emery’s fondness for the England Under-21 international before January’s FA Cup trip to Middlesbrough. Emery re-affirmed Rogers’ threat in analysis sessions. A lot of the preparation, from a defensive standpoint, centred on him. Immediately after the game, future team-mates told Rogers of Emery’s admiration.
Villa quickly informed Rogers’ camp and Middlesbrough of their interest. Negotiations proved protracted, as Middlesbrough would not deviate from their £15m asking price.
Middlesbrough manager, Michael Carrick, sympathised with Rogers’ desire to play in the Premier League and return to the Midlands, having grown up in Halesowen, Birmingham.
Villa’s senior figures involved were president of football operations Monchi and Damian Vidagany, director of football. They were transparent and clear in their communication throughout the process and were ultimately prepared to pay the asking price, knowing it would be better for Rogers to have six months to attune himself before heading into pre-season. On deadline day, Rogers signed a four-and-a-half-year contract.
After time in the States, Rogers travelled to Portugal for a mini pre-pre-season camp with Belgrave and other players. He was joined by Chris Mepham, who he became friends with during his loan at Bournemouth, as well as a Nottingham Forest contingent of Neco Williams, Joe Worrall and Ryan Yates.
“A few of the lads didn’t know Morgan that well, so he wanted to show them what he was capable of,” says Belgrave. “We were doing sessions and when you’ve got Harry Maguire over on one pitch, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga, James Maddison and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on others, he knew people were watching him. The gyms are outside and people were at the top watching, so it provided added pressure. Morgan took sessions very seriously.”
Sessions lasted 90 minutes before Rogers would do another hour in the gym.
“We had Villa’s head physio come over because Morgan was still on a rehabilitation programme, so he would do the gym work with him and I did the ball work,” Belgrave says. “Morgan was slightly ahead of the other guys because that was their first stage before pre-season, whereas we had done work in Miami and England. Morgan would call me up and say, ‘Are you free today? I want to work on X, Y and Z’.
“It wasn’t overly technical in Miami but was just getting him used to the ball, shooting and working on his first touch. Portugal was more of a step up. I had Mepham to put pressure on Morgan and if we are doing crossing and finishing, I had Worrall as a centre half, making it realistic.”
The role of an Emery No 10 is regarded as among the most nuanced and physically taxing positions. It necessitates intelligence in the timings of movements and recognising when to counter-press and when to sit in a compact shape. Upon turnovers, players must be in positions to break on transition, carrying the ball forward from deep areas.
“In his first game, at Sheffield United, he had a chance that went over the crossbar,” says Belgrave. “If it came towards the end of the season, he scores. Morgan’s willingness and footballing brain allowed him to adjust out of possession — I remember he conceded a few fouls away to Luton — but he learned quickly.”
Rogers training with Belgrave (Belgrave Coaching/Footwork Management)
Rogers’ ability to absorb instructions has underpinned his Villa start. Early teething issues gave way to becoming a key cog in a team that was, at times, flagging during an intense period.
It came as a surprise to those who had worked with Rogers previously, not because of their doubt in his talent, but his toils on loan at Bournemouth and Blackpool.
Rogers was sent back to City early, with Bournemouth manager Scott Parker starting him just once in the Championship. At Blackpool, Michael Appleton was sacked after a handful of games and his replacement, Mick McCarthy, used Rogers as an out-an-out centre forward and held reservations over his work rate out of possession.
“He went down to League One and had a successful stint with Lincoln City, getting used to playing two games a week,” says Belgrave. “Bournemouth and Blackpool have built a resilience. I wouldn’t say I’ve seen a shift in him, but I’ve seen an extra 10 per cent in his attitude and his football. Moving away to all these places — Manchester, Blackpool, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough — helped him grow up.”
Rogers has a support network with his best interests at heart while offering a certain expertise. Belgrave took his younger brother to his football games and has been on hand to offer advice and coaching.
“I think if he didn’t have older siblings or parents close by, you wouldn’t have people saying no,” Belgrave says. “We always say: spend moderately. So spend your money, enjoy yourself, enjoy your life, you never know how long it can last, but rein it in.
“Morgan speaks to our mum every day and sees her once or twice a week. He goes to Nan’s every Sunday, with our aunties and cousins there. He’s very family-orientated. If he’s got a home game that day, he will come straight after.”
Rogers’ other brother, Daniel, is a qualified therapist, holding a Master’s degree in counselling and psychotherapy. Having founded ‘Belgrave Mind’, Daniel now works across several football clubs, offering mental health advice and incorporating cognitive behavioural techniques.
“Being around my brother has been good for Morgs,” says Belgrave. “Daniel has worked in football, so he can see different personalities and little things like when you get subbed off — don’t look angry, take your shirt off and throw it. If you’re upset, jog off, keep the frustrations and vent them in another way.”
Where they lived in Halesowen, Rogers and Belgrave would play football in the cages. It had basketball nets and two small-sized goals. They would practise striking the ball repeatedly, putting in conditions such as shooting before the halfway line or with their weaker foot.
“My stepdad, Morgan’s dad, has always advocated using both feet,” Belgrave says. “When you watch him now, he is quite deceiving. In the past, managers have said he doesn’t run quickly but because his frame is so big, he’s got big strides. His best attribute is when he’s got the ball in the No 10 position and he’s driving. He’s closer to the goal, he’s not wide, not isolated and he’s inside the pitch. He can play passes to the left-back outside of him, the striker, or drift centrally and switch to (Leon) Bailey on the opposite side.”
In his formative years, Rogers was an all-rounder for Warwickshire County Cricket Club; speak to friends and family and they say he is a natural sportsman. He plays several racquet sports, including padel, tennis and squash and watches basketball.
“Football has always been first choice,” says Belgrave. “He watches a lot of German and Spanish football. He would always go on about Jadon Sancho when he was at (Borussia) Dortmund and he loves players like Julian Brandt, Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, who he has played with at England youth level.”
Emery views Rogers as a precocious talent who can flourish in multiple positions. This show of faith has deepened over pre-season, with Rogers operating in higher areas and scoring twice in his first three games.
Rogers’ preparation is paying off.
(Top photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)