Zlatan Ibrahimovic has taken aim at the £117m fee linked with Morgan Rogers, calling it a sign that the market has gone too far. Rogers is about to turn 24, and the move has been framed as a British-record transfer after Chelsea agreed terms with Aston Villa.

Rogers arrives at the centre of the debate with a proper output behind him. He scored 14 goals and added 12 assists in 55 competitive games for Villa last season, which is a big reason the fee is being discussed in the first place. Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League, so the scale of the spending stands out even before the rest of the deal is considered.

Emery's Jackson link

The Villa side of this story is just as active. During talks with Chelsea over Rogers, Villa also enquired about Nicolas Jackson and Alejandro Garnacho, while negotiations over Jackson are expected to speed up once the Rogers move is officially completed.

Jackson spent time under Unai Emery at Villarreal, and Emery's view of him has been positive. He said Jackson showed his potential, improved his understanding and kept learning, adding that his attitude was “fantastic” and that he was “always demanding to train more.” That kind of familiarity is exactly why the reunion talk looks credible. It is still only talk for now, but Villa's interest is clearly rooted in more than a random agency call.

The market debate around Rogers

Ibrahimovic did not try to soften his view. “They need to stop this immediately, not every player is worth £100m, it's getting out of hand, to be honest,” he said. He also questioned how much other young attackers would be worth if Rogers is priced at £117m.

That criticism is easy to understand. A £117m fee for a player about to turn 24 will always invite scrutiny, even when the numbers are decent and the selling club has every reason to hold firm. Villa are also preparing for wider movement, with Lucas Digne expected to leave, goalkeeper work already done on Robin Risser and Guillaume Restes, and the possibility of Emiliano Martinez going before the window closes.

The Jackson angle makes the whole thing more than a single fee argument. Villa are not just selling a major player, they are already using the deal to look at the next one. The move for Rogers may yet define the headline price, but the next concrete step is Chelsea's response to Villa's Jackson enquiry.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 6 outlets. How we work →