Morgan Rogers nears Liverpool move as Aston Villa close in on agreement

The homegrown market is one Richard Hughes will have to tap into this summer and Morgan Rogers could be the Reds' first signing.

Liverpool could lose a lot of homegrown talent this summer. Most notably, Trent Alexander-Arnold but also the likes of Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott, Caoimhin Kelleher and Tyler Morton could all depart.

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This would leave Liverpool with just four homegrown players left in the squad, Vitezslav Jaros, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Curtis Jones.

With Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold and Morton pretty much guaranteed to leave, even keeping Quansah and Elliott would see Liverpool falling short of the Premier League's minimum quota of eight players.

This isn't necessarily as bad as it sounds. U21 players don't have to be registered and Liverpool can still register 17 non-homegrown players.

However, it would mean Arne Slot having two less options or potentially four less options than his rivals.

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This is why investing in homegrown players makes sense and Anfield Watch understands one player who Liverpool really admire and would be ready to make a move for is Morgan Rogers.

Having developed at West Brom's and Manchester City's academy, the England international qualifies as homegrown and Liverpool see him as the perfect option who could play both the attacking midfield role and the left-wing position at Anfield.

Rogers has 17 goal contributions in the Premier League this season, having scored eight goals and registered nine assists.

Across all competitions he has contributed with 27 goal contributions in total.

At 22-years-old he's also yet to enter his prime and has many more levels that he can reach before he's at the pinnacle of his game. Liverpool will like that potential, because the Reds often invest in potential, but at the same time they will appreciate that Rogers is pretty much ready to be a first choice under Slot right now.

There is a genuine chance Liverpool could land Rogers this summer, despite Aston Villa being reluctant to sell him.

At this moment in time it looks like Aston Villa are not going to make the Champions League. Currently, based on the club's last two financial accounts, Aston Villa have lost £200m over the last two seasons.

As per the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), clubs are only permitted to be allowed losses of up to £105m during a rolling three year period.

So in order to avoid incurring financial penalties, Aston Villa might be forced into a big sale. Especially if they want to sign Marcus Rashford from Manchester United, who won't be cheap.

Without Champions League football, Aston Villa will have no choice but to make a big sale and Rogers seems like the most obvious one who could be sold given he has attracted a number of suitors.

Aston Villa's actions in the transfer market would also indicate that Rogers is closing in on a departure from the club. According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa are close to striking an agreement for Norwegian attacking midfielder, Sverre Nypan.

The teenager has been courted by the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal but Villa have won the race for his signature.

This is an interesting move because Nypan could well be the man to replace Rogers. Signing him would indicate Villa are already bringing in his successor and that just means Rogers is very much going to be on the move this summer.

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Whether Liverpool can seal the deal and complete the transfer remains to be seen. But this Nypan deal definitely means Rogers is closer to a move to Anfield.