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Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Rogers joins Chelsea, Arsenal in Diomande contact, Barcola latest
19 Jul 2026 08:57 BST |
8 min read
News
Football news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on several major transfer stories, including the latest on Morgan Rogers, Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola.
Arsenal lose race to sign Morgan Rogers
Aston Villa superstar Morgan Rogers had looked set to join Arsenal this summer, but the deal has officially been hijacked by Chelsea and the England star will instead move to Stamford Bridge next week.
“We start with a story regarding Morgan Rogers, guys, because it is the biggest story of the day. It is an incredible story and a major hijack by Chelsea. I would describe it as a pre-hijack,” Romano told his YouTube channel.
Current ETV
Morgan Rogers
M (CL)
A. Villa
Morgan Rogers
M (CL)
A. Villa
ETV Range
€58.6M - €71.7M
“Why? Because the situation surrounding Morgan Rogers has been clear for several weeks now. Since the end of May and the beginning of June, there have been several conversations as Arsenal began working on a deal for Morgan Rogers.
“Arsenal were in very advanced talks with the player. There were several meetings between Arsenal and the player's representatives, and the player himself was also involved in direct meetings. Arsenal were pushing hard on the contract, and the personal terms were never an issue.
“Morgan Rogers was open to the move. There were some tactical doubts from the player's side, but never any financial concerns. The contract was always ready and was almost fully agreed.
“The plan at Arsenal was that, after signing Christos Tzolis to replace Leandro Trossard, they would meet Aston Villa next week, once the player returned from the World Cup, and try to get a deal done for Morgan Rogers.
“Let me tell you that Arsenal were never going to offer £117 million or £120 million. From Arsenal's point of view, the realistic valuation of the player was around £90 million to £100 million at the very maximum, and no more than that. However, they wanted to begin formal discussions from next week.”
Chelsea move quickly to complete Morgan Rogers deal
Despite Arsenal’s interest, Chelsea remained interested in the England attacker and they have struck a full agreement over a British record transfer.
“What happened over the last 24 hours is that Chelsea entered the deal in a very strong way. Chelsea held a direct meeting with Aston Villa, and it was a very clear meeting because they wanted to complete the deal immediately,” Romano revealed.
“Chelsea arrived with the intention of signing the player, not simply starting negotiations. That is why I describe it as a pre-hijack, because they anticipated what Arsenal were preparing to do. Officially, Arsenal never submitted a bid, but they were going to. That is the situation.
“Chelsea were extremely aggressive. They were ready to pay £117 million, a huge fee for Morgan Rogers, and they also offered the player a six-year contract with an option for a further season. The financial package was higher than what Arsenal intended to offer.
“Chelsea also involved Xabi Alonso. Alonso personally called Morgan Rogers and was directly involved in conversations with the player. Chelsea moved incredibly quickly to complete every aspect of the deal and bring Morgan Rogers to the club. So, the deal is done. We can say that everything is now in place.
“The player will be in London at the beginning of next week. From Monday, the process will begin with his medical tests and the signing of his contract. So, huge bomba - Chelsea have signed Morgan Rogers.”
Alejandro Garnacho to Aston Villa?
With Rogers joining Chelsea, several players are expected to leave Stamford Bridge shortly, including wantaway forward Alejandro Garnacho.
“Let me also mention that this situation could now have an impact on both the wingers' market and the strikers' market in several different ways. There is going to be movement involving a number of players, and there will definitely be consequences following this transfer,” Romano confirmed.
“I told you over the past few days that Aston Villa had been working on signing a new winger because they expected Morgan Rogers to leave, and that is exactly what has happened. They expected Arsenal to be the club that signed him, but Chelsea arrived and completed the deal within 24 hours.
“It is also important to mention that Aston Villa are still looking for wingers. For example, I am told that one of the discussion points during the meeting with Chelsea was Alejandro Garnacho. At the moment, however, Garnacho's priority is to explore different opportunities.
“So, at this stage, Aston Villa's interest in Garnacho is not yet something concrete, although his name was discussed during the meeting.
“At the moment, Alejandro Garnacho has an offer from Roma in Italy, and Roma are pushing very hard to sign him. We now have to understand what happens with that situation.”
Arsenal initiate contact with Yan Diomande
Arsenal will be forced to pursue an alternative target ahead of the new season and Romano has revealed that Yan Diomande is the latest star to be added to their transfer wishlist.
“Then, when we talk about the wingers' market, we also have to see how Arsenal react, both in terms of wingers and strikers, because everything will depend on the opportunities that become available,” he said.
“For example, over the last few days Arsenal made some checks with the agents of Yan Diomande, currently at RB Leipzig, to understand whether there was still a chance to enter the race for the player.
“However, do not forget that Diomande already has an agreement on personal terms with Paris Saint-Germain, and PSG remain in negotiations with RB Leipzig. Arsenal's calls were simply to understand the situation and to gather information on what was happening in recent days.”
Julian Alvarez remains on Arsenal shortlist
While they are keen to sign a new winger after their failure to land Rogers, Arsenal also remain interested in finalising a deal for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.
“Arsenal continue to keep a very close eye on Julián Alvarez,” Romano confirmed.
“The relationship between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid remains very tense, as I have been telling you for weeks. Obviously, if Álvarez cannot join Barcelona because Atlético do not want to sell the player to them, the situation could change later in the window.
"Right now, Atlético are saying that they do not want to sell the player at all. However, if the relationship between Julián Álvarez and the club were to break down, and if Atlético decided to sell him during August, Arsenal would remain very attentive to the situation.
"So we have to keep a close eye on Arsenal because missing out on Morgan Rogers is a significant blow. That is the reality. He was the player they really wanted. He was their number one target, and they were pushing hard to complete the deal.
"Instead, in a major surprise, he has joined Chelsea. There will certainly be consequences for Arsenal in the transfer market because this came as a genuine shock. They did not expect this to happen.”
Bradley Barcola latest
With a deal for Rogers now off, Arsenal have been tipped to pursue PSG winger Bradley Barcola, but Romano has poured cold water on such links.
“My understanding regarding Bradley Barcola is that Arsenal have not made any fresh checks in recent days,” he said.
“While they did make enquiries about Diomande, for example, they have not made any new approach for Barcola. So, at this stage, the conversation between Arsenal and Barcola remains quiet.
“Liverpool, however, remain very attentive to the situation. Liverpool are still very keen on Barcola, and I stand by the information I have been reporting. Liverpool remain a concrete possibility, depending on the level of investment they are prepared to make, because PSG would demand a very significant transfer fee.
“At the same time, it is important to say that Arsenal will now need to react in the market. We have to wait and see what the consequences of missing out on Morgan Rogers will be.”
How Chelsea beat Arsenal to Morgan Rogers
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was a driving force behind the Gunners’ pursuit of Rogers, but they were ultimately unwilling to match Villa’s asking price.
“For sure, it is a major shock. For sure, it is a huge surprise. Morgan Rogers was a player that Mikel Arteta especially wanted to bring to the club,” Romano revealed.
“Arteta had been mentioning Morgan Rogers during internal meetings even before the end of last season. Around January, February and March, the player's name was regularly discussed during Arsenal's planning meetings, and he was considered a serious and concrete target for the Gunners.”
He continued: “Back in May and June, Chelsea felt it would be impossible to enter the race because the player was fully committed to joining Arsenal. However, as time passed, Arsenal were not prepared to meet Aston Villa's valuation. Week after week, Chelsea recognised that an opportunity was developing.
“They anticipated Arsenal's planned bid, moved before any official offer could be submitted, and completed what I describe as a pre-hijack of the deal.
“That timing proved decisive, allowing Chelsea to secure Morgan Rogers before Arsenal had the chance to formally begin negotiations.”
Related stories:
Chelsea agree €138m Morgan Rogers deal - David Ornstein
Transfer Rumours: Chelsea break the market as Micky van de Ven agreement expected
Premier League summer transfers 2026: All the Done Deals
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