Manchester United have been linked with one of Aston Villa’s brightest talents, Morgan Rogers, but according to former Villa defender Stephen Warnock, a move to Old Trafford is unlikely.
“I don’t see him going to United, because at the moment Villa are in a better position,” Warnock told EgyptBettingSites.com. “I don’t care what the name is of Manchester United – if I was looking at them now, I’d be massively concerned going in there. My concern would be: players aren’t improving. Players aren’t getting better.”
However, Warnock thinks a potential switch to Manchester City could be more attractive to Rogers, given the progress players make under Pep Guardiola.
“Whereas if you go to Manchester City, players improve under Guardiola. Yes, it’s a difficult situation at the moment, but also the other side of it is: who’s going to end up in those Champions League places out of City and Villa? Will either of them creep in, or will it be one or the other?
“He’ll want to play Champions League football as well next season, because I think what we’ve seen this season is he’s very capable of playing at that level. I just don’t think it’ll just be those clubs. I think it’ll be clubs from abroad as well.
“I think there’ll be definitely suitors from La Liga – potentially maybe Italy – but definitely La Liga. I think they will be looking at him thinking he’d suit our style of play in Spain.”
Warnock on Rashford
Meanwhile, questions remain over Marcus Rashford’s future, with Villa reportedly undecided on whether to make a permanent swoop following his loan spell from the Red Devils.
Warnock explained why financial considerations could prove to be a sticking point: “The biggest question would be what the fee would be and what the wages would be for Aston Villa. At the moment, it’s a loan deal – whether that was just to push themselves in the Champions League or to get themselves into those Champions League places – and then they would look for an alternative.”
The impact of a player like Rashford is clear, though, particularly when it comes to competition for places in attack. Warnock believes Rashford’s presence benefits Ollie Watkins, who has had to settle for a place on the bench in several recent fixtures.
“I think this is going to be so fascinating to see where it turns out,” said Warnock. “For Ollie Watkins, I think what it does is it helps him because it pushes him for competition. Competition’s always healthy – whether you like it or not, it always spurs you on. Suddenly you’re thinking: ‘Am I starting that weekend, am I not?’ Training has to be better. When you come onto the pitch – whether you start or come on as a sub – you have to perform at a higher level, and I think that’s a positive for the football club.
“So I’d like to see them sign Marcus Rashford, I really would. But from a financial point of view, I think it’s got to be right for the football club because if you start signing players on ridiculous amounts of money, you open the floodgates for everyone else, and then everyone else starts causing problems.”
As the summer transfer window approaches, both Rashford and Rogers are names to keep an eye on as potential outgoings and incomings at Manchester United.
