Aston Villa are closing in on a dramatic summer that could see them lose Morgan Rogers and pursue Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson as his replacement.
Rogers is on the verge of becoming the most expensive English footballer in history, with Chelsea agreeing a deal worth £117m to sign him from Villa.
The agreed fee eclipses both the £116m Manchester City paid for Elliot Anderson and the £100m City once paid Villa for Jack Grealish.
Chelsea look set to beat Premier League champions Arsenal in the race to sign the 23-year-old, who can play as a number ten or out wide on either flank.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reports that Aston Villa are interested in a deal to sign Nicolas Jackson from Xabi Alonso’s side this summer.
Romano claims the Villans are in talks with Chelsea over a potential move for the Senegal international, with his name emerging during discussions about Rogers.
The reporter adds that Unai Emery loves the striker, whom he previously worked with at Villarreal, and reports from earlier this summer suggested Jackson could be worth around £60m.
Jackson played 27 times for Emery at Villarreal before spending two seasons in the Premier League with Chelsea, racking up 24 goals and 14 big chances created.
Villa have already signed Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, but the Swiss international has never scored more than seven goals in a single season throughout his career.
Rogers, by contrast, recorded double figures for either goals or assists in each of the last two Premier League seasons, highlighting the significant void his departure leaves.
The 25-year-old Jackson, hailed as “unbelievable” by Peter Crouch, is a versatile forward who can play on the left flank or in his favoured centre-forward role.
Jackson, who once scored a hat-trick against Spurs, has demonstrated the ability to contribute both goals and assists at a consistent rate in the Premier League.
While Jackson is not an attacking midfielder like Rogers, Emery could deploy him across multiple positions, making him a flexible option to boost Villa’s attack.
Having Manzambi to cover the number ten role and Jackson to replace Rogers’ output at the top end could see Villa effectively replace the £117m star with two targeted signings.