Aston Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers earned his first call-up to the England senior squad on Monday, and he’s now shed insight into the moment he found out.
It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Morgan Rogers, who has gone from plying his trade with Middlesborough in the Championship to flying in the Champions League with Aston Villa and now receiving his first England call-up.
Unai Emery will be delighted with the news that Rogers has been selected for England, after feeling annoyed that the 22-year-old continued playing the under-21s during the international break.
The Englishman has enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign and received plaudits from all angles for his form.
Jamie Redknapp previously dubbed Rogers ‘unplayable’ in the loss to Arsenal; one of his 11 Premier League appearances this term, scoring three and assisting twice.
Morgan Rogers shares the ‘surreal’ moment he received first England call-up
It’s every young boy’s dream to pull on their country’s jersey. Rogers has done it several times at the under-21 level but Lee Carsley has finally recognised his form for Villa.
During recent international breaks, the Aston Villa star has proven he’s too good for under-21s, scoring twice in a 4-1 win over Austria in September.
Now, he gets to play with his teammates Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins for the Three Lions senior side, and he couldn’t be more delighted.
Speaking to England’s social media pages, Rogers has shared the ‘surreal’ moment he received the call, dubbing it something he’s always ‘dreamed of’.
“Yeah, quite surreal. It just happened so quickly,” Rogers said via Instagram. “Just to go from one extreme to another is mad really. It’s just something I’ve dreamed of, I’ve worked so hard to get an opportunity and to be given it, I couldn’t be more delighted.”
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Rogers must take golden chance amid England injury crisis
England have two fixtures coming up in the Nations League as they aim to round off their League B Group 2 campaign in style.
The Three Lions travel to Greece on November 14 before hosting the Republic of Ireland two days later, and Rogers will hope to at least make his debut in one of those games.
England’s interim manager Carsley – who is going to be replaced by Thomas Tuchel on January 1 2025 – has endured somewhat of an injury crisis.
Chelsea’s Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer, Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, as well as Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold are all unavailable for England.
It means that Rogers is a late inclusion into the squad, alongside Jarrad Bowen, Jarrad Branthwaite, Tino Livramento and James Trafford.
In this scenario, the Villa playmaker has a rare chance to impress Carsley and perhaps cement his place in Tuchel’s thinking ahead of January.
Certainly, if he performs like he has done for the Villans in that attacking midfield role, Rogers will become irresistible.
