It’s been 10 short months since Aston Villa completed the signing of Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough on transfer deadline day.
The attacking midfielder has made a huge impression during that time, taking to the Premier League with ease, making his mark in the Champions League and, as of last week, becoming a senior England international.
Upon his return to Bodymoor Heath from international duty this week, Rogers was rewarded for his fine form with a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2030.
“I’m delighted,” he said of his new deal.
“I’m really happy that the club has shown faith and trust in me. I’m so grateful that I can be here for many more years to come and continue with this project. I can’t wait for what’s to come.”
Rogers added: “I want to keep improving, keep progressing and try to get better, reaching new heights and new levels.
“It’s been a good start to the season for me personally and as a team, but we’ve got goals and ambitions that we want to achieve.
“I’ve got goals and ambitions for myself and levels that I want to reach. This is just the start for me and I can’t wait to carry on.”
Having initially made an impact from the bench upon joining the club, the 22-year-old quickly earned a place in Villa’s starting XI and has shown no signs of relinquishing it.
Rogers puts that down to the hard work put in at Bodymoor Heath with manager Unai Emery and his coaching staff.
He said: “They’ve really taken a shine to wanting to work with me, especially outside on the training pitch and in video sessions.
“They’re trying to improve me and help me to understand what the manager wants from me. They’re helping me to use my best attributes within the team and show what I’m about.
“I owe them a lot and I hope I continue to improve because I know I’ve still got a lot of things to develop and get better. It’s a great group of staff to help me do so.
“They really care about wanting to improve players and I’m no different. I want to learn, I want to improve myself and get better.”
Rogers has relished every new experience that’s come his way since stepping up from the Championship, showing that he belongs on the biggest stages at home and abroad.
The Halesowen-born player says playing in the Champions League was something he dreamt of as a young boy, while his maiden call-up to the senior England squad was the latest high in a year full of them.
The fact that he played in both of the Three Lions’ games against Greece and Republic of Ireland to win his first two caps made it even more special.
“It’s been a mad few weeks for me,” he reflected.
“That’s probably the best thing that’s happened to me in my career. It’s something that’s hard to put into words, that feeling when you get told that.
“Being there with the players I was with and experiencing that moment will stay with me forever.
“Hopefully I can get many more caps in the future, but it’s down to me, how I play and how hard I work. I want to reach new levels so that I can stay there.”
Rogers’ focus is back on the Premier League this weekend and a game against Crystal Palace at Villa Park.
It’s a fixture that Villa’s No.27 hopes can help set the tone for a busy period up until the new year.
He said: “We didn’t have a good run of results before the break, so we need to put that right.
“It’s another big game and we need to get back to winning ways. We need to get back to playing how we know we can. We’re looking to get on a good run before Christmas because it’s a hard period with a lot of games.
“We know we need to try and improve on how we were before the break to get back to where we belong in the table.”
