Aston Villa’s ideal Morgan Rogers replacement named amid Manchester United and Tottenham interest

How does one go about replacing the most expensive British footballer in history?

Well, that’s a problem Aston Villa boss Unai Emery must solve ahead of the 2026/27 campaign following Morgan Rogers’ £117million exit to Chelsea earlier this summer.

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The eye-watering nine-figure fee represents a significant profit on the initial £8m Villa forked out to sign Rogers from Middlesbrough in January 2024.

After a six-month period of adjustment, Rogers quickly cemented himself as one of Villa’s most important players.

His brilliance in the final third was reflected by his 56 goal contributions across all competitions in the last two seasons, split evenly with 28 goals and 28 assists.

But Rogers’ departure now leaves a gaping hole in Villa’s line-up and it’s one that won’t be fixed on the cheap.

The reigning Europa League champions have already taken a step in the right direction by snapping up Johan Manzambi from Freiburg in a club record deal.

However, Manzambi’s Villa debut may be some way away as he continues to recover from a knee injury sustained while representing Switzerland at the World Cup, with no definitive return date provided.

Andy Brassell reveals who Aston Villa should sign to fill Morgan Rogers void

While the 20-year-old recovers, Villa could still add extra strength to their attacking midfield stocks.

And according to European football expert Andy Brassell, Villa may find that in Como ace Martin Baturina.

“I think he makes a lot of sense for Aston Villa in a post-Morgan Rogers world,” Brassell told talkSPORT.com.

“And he’s a different player to Rogers of course. And you would expect Baturina ultimately to score more goals than him. So I feel that would work quite well.

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“In terms of the blend that Manchester United are trying to put together. Yes I think he’d be a plus for them.

“But again, for me, Villa seems a really really good fit.”

Is there another English team Martin Baturina could play for?

Another English team Brassell mentioned as a potential suitor for Baturina was Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Spurs already boast multiple players in Baturina’s mould, which Brassell describes as ‘more of a second striker’ and ‘someone who relies on excellent close control’ in the box.

“And what they (Spurs) could do with is a big, brutish centre forward, essentially,” Brassell continued.

“Look, I know De Zerbi wants to play fluid football. So maybe it does stack up. Maybe it could work.

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“But it wouldn’t be my first choice destination for him.”

How did Martin Baturina perform last season for Como?

Baturina, who joined Como from Dinamo Zagreb last summer, ended the 2025/26 campaign with eight goals and four assists across all competitions.

The 23-year-old boosted his transfer value with a goal during Croatia’s 4-2 loss to England at the World Cup.

That can only be good news for Como, who are already one of Serie A’s wealthiest clubs.

But that hasn’t stopped club president Mirwan Suwarso from leaving the door open for a potential summer exit.

“If there’s an offer, we’ll listen,” Suwarso told Calciomercato.

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“If we like it, we’ll accept it, but we’re not afraid to refuse.”

Why Martin Baturina will not be cheap for interested clubs

Suwarso’s hard line stance is not ideal for Villa and other potential suitors, who almost certainly won’t be able to strike a cut-price deal.

“There are two ways to look at it,” Brassell told talkSPORT.com.

“Firstly, the fact is they’re very well backed. A lot better backed than a lot of the traditional big names in Italian football. So to try and force them into a sale is quite difficult.

“As you said, if they’re going to sell, they’ll sell on their terms.

“Baturina was really, really good last season. And bear in mind that as we spoke about before, that Alvaro Morata gap in terms of goals.

“They were short because he wasn’t putting the ball in the back of the net. So they needed other people to chip in. Baturina was able to do that.”