Yahoo News Man City win triggers Aston Villa transfer payment after Champions League qualification
Aston Villa will have to pay Middlesbrough a small fee as part of their agreement for the transfer of Morgan Rogers, after the club qualified for next season's Champions League, courtesy of Man City's win over Tottenham. Villa signed Rogers, in doing so brought him back to the West Midlands, from Boro in January.
The attacking midfielder, who has three goals to his name this term - in the win over Bournemouth and in the draws with Brentford and Chelsea - could miss the end of the season after suffering an injury in the recent defeat at Brighton, but he has made a significant impact since he joined the club as their major addition in the winter window.
Rogers, of West Brom's academy before he signed for Manchester City in 2019, had had loan spells with Bournemouth and Blackpool before joining Middlesbrough on a permanent basis last summer. His excellent first half of the campaign earned him a quickfire Premier League move and he cost Villa around £15m - with add-ons and certain clauses inserted into the deal.
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Boro also have a sizeable sell-on clause, too, if a bigger club was to ever come calling, according to the Gazette. Qualification for the Champions League, they report, was one of the stipulations in the deal which has triggered another payment for the Championship side as they prepare for their summer recruitment drive before another promotion push.
Rogers, 21, signed a five-and-a-half year deal at Villa Park upon arrival and was the most prominent addition as Villa used January to look to the future; they recruited third choice goalkeeper Joe Gauci from his native Australia and young defender Lino Sousa, who was immediately loaned to Plymouth Argyle. Kosta Nedeljkovic will arrive this summer from Red Star Belgrade.
