Liverpool’s summer of chaos, ambition and reinvention shows no signs of slowing down. The Premier League champions under Arne Slot have already spent heavy, already reshaped their squad, already sent shockwaves through Europe with their transfer moves. Jeremie Frimpong arrived, fast and fearless. Milos Kerkez too, a young left-back with hunger. Florian Wirtz, one of the jewels of Germany, plucked for the midfield of tomorrow. Hugo Ekitike, tall, raw, but full of fire, brought in to add something different to the attack. Liverpool are building not just a team, but an empire, a squad designed to dominate now and later. But even with all of this, the story is not finished. The saga of Alexander Isak has consumed the headlines all summer, but now, in the shadows, another story has risen, one that could define Liverpool’s next era. Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa’s breakout star, valued at £80m, described by some as “a machine,” has emerged as a very real target for Anfield.
For weeks, Liverpool’s chase of Isak has felt like a soap opera. The Swedish striker has been frustrated at Newcastle, the Reds desperate to bring him in, but the cost has been monstrous. One hundred and thirty million pounds, maybe more. The kind of fee that forces even Liverpool to pause, to consider the risk, the balance, the sustainability. Isak is proven, no doubt. Last season, twenty-three goals in the Premier League, six assists, electric pace, ice in his veins in front of goal. He has shown he can lead the line, carry a team, destroy defences. But the weight of his price tag hangs heavy. One man, one signing, one gamble.
Meanwhile, behind the noise, Morgan Rogers has been quietly tearing up the Premier League. At just 23, the Birmingham-born attacking midfielder has gone from Manchester City’s academy castaway to Aston Villa’s talisman. His journey is a story of belief, hunger, and sheer determination. Sold to Middlesbrough for a modest fee, he proved himself in the Championship, and Villa took the chance. For £8m, they found a gem. And in the 2024/25 season, Rogers exploded. Fifty-four appearances in all competitions. Eight goals, eleven assists in the league. Four goals, three assists in Europe as Villa stormed to a Champions League quarter-final. A player who presses, who carries the ball, who passes with vision, who has lungs that never stop. A machine, yes, but also a creator, an instigator, a player who fits perfectly into Slot’s pressing chaos at Liverpool.
The numbers tell a story, and in modern football, numbers matter. Isak is ahead in goals, no question. Twenty-nine goal contributions across all competitions last season. But Rogers, with eighteen, is not far behind. And when you look at progressive actions, when you look at the modern currency of football, the carrying, the passing, the creating, Rogers shines brighter. Per ninety minutes, 3.29 progressive carries, 3.55 progressive passes. Isak, by comparison, 2.71 and 2.88. Rogers edges him too in shot-creating actions, 3.04 to 3.01. These are not small margins. These are signs that Rogers is more involved in build-up, more creative, more vital in linking midfield to attack. For a team like Liverpool, who demand fluidity, interchanging roles, and relentless pressing, that might matter more than one man who finishes moves.
This is where Slot faces his great decision. Isak is the blockbuster, the headline grabber, the marquee name. Rogers is the strategic play, the long-term cornerstone, the man who might give Liverpool not just goals, but balance. With Ekitike, Chiesa, and the teenage Rio Ngumoha already in the squad, there is pace, there is dribbling, there is direct running. Do Liverpool really need another pure striker, or do they need another creative engine who can feed those runners, who can knit together the chaos into structure?
Harvey Elliott is the key that unlocks the question. Leipzig are circling, pushing hard to sign him for £45m to £50m. Elliott, the golden boy once tipped as Liverpool’s future, has slipped down the pecking order. He is talented, still young, but Slot’s system demands more physicality, more intensity, more verticality. If he goes, a space opens. And that space is perfectly shaped for Morgan Rogers. The same age bracket, but taller, stronger, more explosive, more direct. A player who can press high, recover the ball, then drive forward with it. A player who feels built in a laboratory for Slot-ball.
And then there is money. Eighty million pounds for Rogers is huge, but compared to £130m for Isak, it is almost rational. Liverpool have already spent big this summer. To pour another nine figures into one man could stretch them thin, could limit them later. To spend £80m, keep flexibility, keep balance, might be smarter. Rogers is homegrown too, English, which matters for squad registration and identity. Isak is Premier League proven, yes, but foreign, expensive, and locked into Newcastle’s hard stance. Villa may be forced to sell because of PSR rules, because of financial fair play pressures. Timing matters. Opportunity matters.
It is easy to fall for the glamour of Isak. He is tall, elegant, powerful, deadly. He looks like a striker designed for the modern game. But football is not just about names, it is about systems, about roles, about chemistry. For Slot, who sees football as a web of connections, a storm of pressing, a dance of movements, Rogers may simply make more sense. He is not yet the finished product, but maybe that is the point. At 23, he can grow with Liverpool, be shaped, moulded, and turned into a weapon that lasts for a decade.
Fans are divided, as always. Some want Isak at all costs, demanding Liverpool flex their financial muscle and bring in the proven killer. Others see Rogers as the cleverer move, the one that avoids the mistakes of the past when clubs spent big on stars who did not fit. The debate is fierce, emotional, endless. But what is clear is that Liverpool are not done, that they are ready to go late into the window, ready to twist, to strike, to shock.
For Morgan Rogers, this is the chance of a lifetime. To go from Villa Park to Anfield, from promise to superstardom, from being noticed to being watched by millions. For Isak, it is about proving he is worth the price, proving he can be the man to lead a giant. For Slot, it is about choice, about strategy, about building not just a squad but a philosophy. The clock is ticking, the window is closing, and Liverpool stand at a crossroads.
Isak would bring goals, headlines, excitement. Rogers would bring balance, creativity, future. Both are expensive, both are talented, both could change Liverpool. The decision will shape not just this season, but the next five years of football at Anfield
The story is not yet finished. But one thing is certain: Liverpool are not standing still. They are building, they are planning, they are dreaming. And whether it is Alexander Isak or Morgan Rogers, the next move will send shockwaves through football.
