Aston Villa have signed “an exciting prospect” who could be their new Rogers

Aston Villa were fairly busy during the January transfer window as they attempted to bolster their chances of landing a Champions League finish this season.

Unai Emery‘s side reportedly pursued ambitious deals for Barcelona forward Ferran Torres and Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, but were unable to get either move over the line.

Mateta almost signed for AC Milan instead of making the move to Villa Park, but a knee issue was spotted in his medical and that meant that he ended up remaining at Selhurst Park.

Villa decided to pivot with a move for Besiktas centre-forward Tammy Abraham to bring the England international back to the club for a second spell.

The ex-Chelsea striker spent the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Villa Park in the Championship, winning promotion under Dean Smith, and now he has a chance to play Premier League football for the Villans.

Rating Aston Villa’s January signings

Along with the signing of Abraham, Villa also brought Douglas Luiz back to the club on loan from Italian giants Juventus and signed Brazilian youngster Alysson from Gremio on a permanent deal.

Luiz, like the English striker, is a shrewd signing by the Villans because he had already played for the club before and arrives as a known quantity, with 22 goals and 24 assists in 206 appearances in all competitions.

It is, therefore, hard to rate the signings of Luiz and Abraham as anything less than eight out of ten, because they are both Premier League proven stars who know what it takes to play for Villa, and can hit the ground running.

On the flip side of that, Villa brought Leon Bailey back from his loan at Roma last month and that does not look like a good piece of business. The Jamaica international has scored two goals in 52 games for Villa and Roma since the start of last season, and has blanked in his first three games back at the club.

Unless Bailey can get back to the levels he showed in the 2023/24 campaign, when he scored 14 goals and provided 13 assists, the left-footed flop does not look like he will contribute much at the top end of the pitch.

As it stands, the Villans should be looking to finally part ways with the Jamaican winger when the summer transfer window opens for business, due to his dreadful form in the final third over the past 18 months.

Aston Villa can unearth their new Morgan Rogers

Of the four players who arrived at Villa in the winter window, Alysson is the one that may have gone under the radar below the headline additions of Luiz and Abraham.

We have rated the signing at seven-and-a-half out of ten, though, because he seems to be a very exciting prospect who could end up being Villa’s next Morgan Rogers.

Villa signed the English attacking midfielder from Middlesbrough as a young prospect at the start of 2024, and he went on to deliver goals and assists on a regular basis in his first full season at the club, scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists in the 2024/25 campaign.

Alysson could follow in Rogers’ footsteps by using his first five months at the club after signing during the January transfer window to settle into life at Villa, before kicking on to be a star in his first full season.

The 19-year-old starlet is yet to make his senior debut for the Villans, since signing from Gremio last month, but journalist Jacob Tanswell noted that his teammates have been “impressed” by his “pace and power” in training.

Alysson, who turns 20 in May, played 41 appearances in all competitions for Gremio at first-team level after impressing at academy level, which means that he does already have experience in senior football and could be ready to step into the Premier League in the next few weeks.

The teenage ace – who is an “exciting prospect” in the words of reporter John Townley – delivered seven goals and five assists in 23 appearances for the Brazilian side at U23 level before progressing to the first-team, showing that he does have the potential to score and assist goals on a regular basis, like Rogers.

Alysson only scored one goal and provided two assists in 41 appearances for Gremio’s first-team, which is not amazing on paper, but it is worth remembering that Rogers only scored two goals in 26 Championship games the season that Villa signed him.

Clubs will look for attributes and potential in performances from young players, rather than purely their output at the time, and they clearly struck gold with the Middlesbrough star.

It is now down to Emery to provide Alysson, who predominantly plays on the wing, with first-team opportunities in the Premier League to see if he can be their next Rogers.

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