I kind of agree with both of you. I can see the logic from Villa's side, and I don't think Boro or Rogers could turn this deal down.
Rogers won't get the time and patience to get up to speed he has had at Boro. He needs to maintain his current level and improve, probably with limited minutes to start with. That's a tough ask, and it's not that hard to see that it might lead to struggle, loss of confidence and a return to the Championship.
That said, he has shown flashes of what would appeal to top end PL clubs. You don't get many players with his combination of physical and technical attributes. I can understand why Villa feels it's a worthwhile gamble.
The key for Boro is how & when we use this money. It's a big early reward for the changes in recruitment Keiran Scott has led. But as we pursue this model, we have to get the balance right between sales and keeping players long enough to get us out of the league. We're not here to be an academy.
As a Villa fan and regular listener I was initially apathetic to the move but think Ali has injected positivity. We have been stumbling the last month but going deeper into the ECL and potentially FA Cup I think he will get some surprising game time.
Definitely concerned it'll stunt his development. These probably outweigh my beliefs that it's a great deal right now for Villa. It's 100% a great deal for Boro, and Rogers is never going to turn it down either.
One of those that may not come off immediately, but that isn't the point, if he's transformed into a top 6 PL player by age 24/25, it'll have been well worth it for Villa. That big concern is that the guaranteed lower amount of minutes played do delay that development.
Agree with Ali, most important thing is how a player will perform for you if you sign them rather than what they've done, and it's too good a deal for all parties for it to not have happened.
I kind of agree with both of you. I can see the logic from Villa's side, and I don't think Boro or Rogers could turn this deal down.
Rogers won't get the time and patience to get up to speed he has had at Boro. He needs to maintain his current level and improve, probably with limited minutes to start with. That's a tough ask, and it's not that hard to see that it might lead to struggle, loss of confidence and a return to the Championship.
That said, he has shown flashes of what would appeal to top end PL clubs. You don't get many players with his combination of physical and technical attributes. I can understand why Villa feels it's a worthwhile gamble.
The key for Boro is how & when we use this money. It's a big early reward for the changes in recruitment Keiran Scott has led. But as we pursue this model, we have to get the balance right between sales and keeping players long enough to get us out of the league. We're not here to be an academy.
As a Villa fan and regular listener I was initially apathetic to the move but think Ali has injected positivity. We have been stumbling the last month but going deeper into the ECL and potentially FA Cup I think he will get some surprising game time.
Great stuff as always. Love the opposing views format
Definitely concerned it'll stunt his development. These probably outweigh my beliefs that it's a great deal right now for Villa. It's 100% a great deal for Boro, and Rogers is never going to turn it down either.
One of those that may not come off immediately, but that isn't the point, if he's transformed into a top 6 PL player by age 24/25, it'll have been well worth it for Villa. That big concern is that the guaranteed lower amount of minutes played do delay that development.
Agree with Ali, most important thing is how a player will perform for you if you sign them rather than what they've done, and it's too good a deal for all parties for it to not have happened.