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Morgan Rogers opens up on England ambition and sends clear message to Thomas Tuchel
Morgan Rogers has made clear that playing for England remains his 'dream', with the Aston Villa playmaker as close as he's ever been to the Three Lions senior squad ahead of the tenure of Thomas Tuchel beginning. German Tuchel, the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG manager, commences his time in charge in the New Year.
Rogers, who joined Villa at the start of the year from Middlesbrough, has gone from strength to strength under Unai Emery and is now a key fixture in the Lions' starting XI in the Premier League and the Champions League. That form has led to calls that Rogers ought to be welcomed into the England first-team fold.
The attacker has represented England at every age from under 15 to under 21, but while Villa teammates Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins made interim boss Lee Carsley's final squad of 2024, there was no room for Rogers. With Tuchel set to enter the fray in 2025, Rogers is hoping that a fresh start at management level will help him to realise a career ambition.
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"It's the dream. Champions League for your club, and then the dream internationally is playing at major tournaments for your country," Rogers told BBC Radio 5Live. "It's what I want to do, it's what I set out to do at the start and I feel like I'm in and around it which is nice to hear from other people, but it's not what I'm thinking about - I'm just thinking about playing the next game for Aston Villa and trying to get better.
"I know in my position there are some world class players. Everywhere you look in the England squad at the moment, it's filled with so much talent, so I'm not going to be hurt if I'm not selected because of the names that are already in there, but it's a goal and an ambition of mine. Hopefully I'm not too far and I'm knocking at the door, but we'll just have to see what happens."
