Aston Villa officially join the race to sign £43m winger

Aston Villa may need to dip into the market to sign a marquee attacker in the summer transfer window as clubs circle around their star forward Morgan Rogers.

Premier League champions Arsenal are reportedly keen on a deal to sign the England international, who is valued at £100m by the Villans this off-season.

The 23-year-old star, who is currently at the World Cup with England, is said to be pushing for a move to The Emirates to link up with international teammates Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.

It is now down to the Gunners, or any of the other interested parties, to put a £100m bid on the table for Villa to consider before a move can be considered a real possibility.

Rogers could become the second player sold by Aston Villa for £100m, five years on from Jack Grealish’s £100m move to Manchester City.

Aston Villa eyeing deal for World Cup forward

Grealish racked up 14 goals and 15 assists in the Premier League for the Villans across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns before completing his, at the time, British record transfer to City.

Now, Unai Emery and the recruitment team are reportedly looking at a player who has the potential to be the club’s next version of the English forward on the left flank.

According to Foot MercatoAston Villa are one of a number of teams interested in a deal to sign West Ham United winger Crysencio Summerville in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Villans, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal have all ‘officially’ joined the race to secure the signing of the Netherlands international this off-season.

It adds that the Hammers are looking for a fee of at least £43m for the former Leeds United attacker, despite being relegated from the Premier League this year, and that their valuation could increase as more teams start to pursue him.

Foot Mercato also reveals that Champions League champions Paris Saint-Germain are also eyeing up the winger, which illustrates how difficult it will be for Villa to win the race for his services in the coming weeks.

Why Crysencio Summerville would be Aston Villa’s next Jack Grealish

The Villans should push to win the race for the £43m-rated star, irrespective of the other clubs interested in him, because he could be Emery’s own version of Grealish.

Despite being relegated with the Hammers, Summerville showed plenty of signs of quality at the London Stadium in the 2025/26 campaign, and has a style of play that could suit the way that Villa play.

Emery likes to have dynamic and transitional players in the three attacking midfield roles behind Ollie Watkins so that the team can be effective on the break, and that is where the Dutchman, described as a “1v1 monster” by scout Ben Mattinson, thrives.

The fact that no winger in the Premier League was fouled more times than Summerville last season speaks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, as defenders constantly have to take him down to halt his progress.

It was the same for Grealish when he was in his pomp at Villa. He topped the division for fouls won in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns before his £100m move to City, as defenders opted to foul him because they could not get the ball off him any other way.

Summerville, who scored against Sweden in the World Cup on Saturday, would offer a similar transitional threat on the left wing with his ball-carrying ability, either winning a foul or progressing the ball up the pitch on the break.

The 24-year-old star has also shown glimpses of quality in the final third. He scored five goals in 31 matches in the Premier League for West Ham, and has already scored two goals in two games for the Netherlands at the World Cup.

Summerville also produced 19 goals and nine assists in the 2023/24 Championship campaign with Leeds United, before his move to London, which shows the kind of consistent quality that he can offer in a team that is challenging at the right end of the table.

Villa, therefore, could brilliantly replace Rogers and find their next version of Grealish by swooping to sign the relegated star, but they must first beat off competition from PSG and Arsenal.