Three ways Xabi Alonso can line up with Morgan Rogers as Chelsea FC role revealed

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Three ways Xabi Alonso can line up with Morgan Rogers as Chelsea role revealed

England star is believed to have already been told what position he will occupy in new-look Blues attack

Sam Tabuteau

1 minute ago

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Morgan Rogers is poised to complete a club-record £117million transfer from Aston Villa to Chelsea.

The England international is set to sign a six-year contract with the option of a further 12 months, with Chelsea seeing off competition from Premier League champions Arsenal.

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Rogers was undergoing a medical on Monday ahead of his blockbuster move to Stamford Bridge as Xabi Alonso gets the statement signing to kick-start his Chelsea tenure.

Conversations Rogers had with Alonso are said to have been key in his decision to join Chelsea, and the 23-year-old is believed to have been given assurances that he will get minutes out wide on the left.

Rogers, though, is a versatile player and can be deployed across the entire frontline as Chelsea look to remodel their attack under Alonso.

It will be important for Alonso to develop the relationship between Rogers and his former Manchester City team-mate Cole Palmer, and finding space for both of them in his attack will be crucial to Chelsea’s success.

Here, Standard Sport looks at three ways Rogers could fit into Chelsea’s starting lineup next season…

Rogers to fill void on the left

Rogers is expected to get the majority of his minutes in a Chelsea shirt on the left-hand side of attack.

With Alejandro Garnacho expected to leave this summer, just a year after he joined from Manchester United, there will be a vacant position on that side.

Around 45 per cent of Rogers’ minutes last season at Villa came on the left wing, and he thrived when coming off that flank to arrive in the box and curl right-footed towards the far corner.

Chelsea have struggled to find wingers with end product, and Rogers constitutes a massive upgrade in terms of his ability to arrive in the right areas and finish goalscoring opportunities.

A unique blend of power and technicality, he can show players down the line to create chances or take them inside to carve out a shooting opportunity.

The variety and combination of Rogers’ physical and technical attributes make him such a hard player to defend against, and he will add plenty of unpredictability to Chelsea’s attack.

Versatility: Xabi Alonso could deploy Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer in many different ways at Chelsea

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Partnering Palmer in the middle

It is unclear whether Alonso will revert back to the 3-4-2-1 formation that provided so much success at Bayer Leverkusen.

Were he to do so, Palmer and Rogers could form a potent partnership as the two central attacking midfielders behind the striker.

Rogers, like Palmer, is unafraid to take shots on from outside the area - he was joint-second for goals scored from outside the box (3) in the Premier League last season.

He is also an excellent ball-carrier, calm under pressure and able to play out of tight spaces.

Alongside a fully-rested Palmer, Rogers could help strike up one of the deadliest attacking duos in the top-flight and provide the third-man runs that Palmer’s deft creativity has been crying out for.

Long shots are something of a dying art in the Premier League, but in Rogers and Palmer, Chelsea would have two of the most accomplished ball strikers in the division, and if nothing else, that would get opposition defences thinking.

Adding depth on the right wing

As Rogers showed by masterfully laying on the assist for Anthony Gordon’s opening goal for England against Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals, he is also able to contribute from the right flank.

Though not his preferred position, Rogers has the speed and physicality to get past his marker and on to his right foot to cross.

More of a goalscorer than a creator, Rogers is still capable of carving out chances for his team-mates, and he would provide a directness and quality from the right wing that would prove useful for Alonso.

Estevao is still young and inconsistent, even amidst the flashes of brilliance, and the Brazilian is yet to play a competitive minute after recovering from a serious hamstring injury.

Pedro Neto’s Chelsea future is also in doubt. The Portuguese winger has, at times, looked capable of performing consistently at a top level, but his end product is also a point of continued frustration.

Rogers’ influence will give Alonso another option on the right and allow Chelsea to be more fluid and direct, particularly when facing low blocks.

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