Chelsea is about to recruit an England star for the 2026 World Cup for £117 million.

Chelsea is near to finalizing a record transfer of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, valued at £117 million.

If the transaction is completed, it will make the English forward the most expensive player sold in the history of Villa Park.

Rogers was one of Arsenal's top transfer targets throughout the summer. However, the London club never met the price Aston Villa demanded for their attacking star.

Arsenal once believed they were leading the race to sign Rogers, as the player was reportedly always ready to join the reigning Premier League champions.

Nevertheless, Chelsea has unexpectedly entered the race and is now very confident of completing the £117 million deal within the next week. Rogers could undergo a medical as early as Monday after returning from a tour of the United States with the England national team, before signing a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge.

Although they admire Rogers greatly, Arsenal still has other options on the transfer market. Notably, Bradley Barcola, the winger for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, is also on Manager Mikel Arteta's priority list.

One factor boosting Chelsea's confidence in this deal is talent scouting director Joe Shields, who previously worked at Manchester City's academy and has a close relationship with Rogers. There, the England international also played alongside Cole Palmer and Tosin Adarabioyo – two players who now wear the Chelsea shirt.

Although Aston Villa will participate in the Champions League this season, while Chelsea has no European competition, this is said not to significantly affect Rogers' decision.

Aside from Rogers, Arsenal is also closely monitoring Aston Villa center-back Ezri Konsa and may submit a formal offer in the near future. However, the gap in valuation between the two clubs remains quite large.

If they part ways with Rogers, Aston Villa will lose one of their most effective attacking players, who has achieved double-digit goals and assists in the past two seasons.

In return, the record revenue from this deal will help the club improve their financial situation after violating UEFA's spending rules, and also enable Manager Unai Emery to continue strengthening the squad ahead of the new season.

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