Photo: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Chelsea have officially unveiled Morgan Rogers as their latest signing, with the 23-year-old England international joining Xabi Alonso's squad. Rogers wears the No. 17 shirt at Stamford Bridge.
Rogers grew up in Halesowen in the West Midlands and comes from a family of West Bromwich Albion supporters. He joined the Baggies' youth system at the age of seven and made his senior debut for the club at 16, coming on as a substitute to replace Wes Hoolahan in an FA Cup fourth replay against Brighton & Hove Albion — playing alongside new Chelsea team-mate Tosin Adarabioyo.
Football was not the only sport Rogers excelled at as a youngster. He was also a keen cricketer and turned down trials with Worcestershire in order to concentrate on football.
Rogers is a long-standing friend of England team-mate Jude Bellingham, having grown up in the same Dudley area of the West Midlands. At Under-16 level, he scored a goal and registered an assist as Sandwell Academy won the English National Schools Cup at Stoke's bet365 Stadium in May 2017, beating Ravenswood School from Kent 3-0 in the final.
During a loan spell from Manchester City, Rogers was part of the Bournemouth side managed by former Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker that won promotion to the Premier League for just the second time in their history in 2021/22.
Chelsea were opponents in two significant moments of Rogers' early career. He and Cole Palmer both scored in a Manchester City win over Chelsea in the 2020 FA Youth Cup final. Rogers also scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the 2023/24 League Cup semi-final, finishing as the competition's top scorer with five goals in six games.
Cole Palmer's trademark 'cold' celebration was originally borrowed from Rogers. Palmer adopted it as a tribute after Rogers performed the celebration following a winning goal against West Bromwich Albion for Middlesbrough in December 2023, seven days before Palmer used it himself.
Rogers is the second-youngest Englishman to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League. He netted three times — two within the first five minutes — in Aston Villa's 4-2 win over Celtic in January 2024, aged 22 years and 187 days, second only to Wayne Rooney. Those were his first-ever goals in the competition.
His first senior trophy came last season when Aston Villa won the UEFA Europa League for the first time in their history. Rogers scored in the final as Villa defeated Freiburg 3-0 and was subsequently named UEFA's Player of the Season for the competition.