Centre-stage Rogers revels in Gascoigne comparison

Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers has vowed to keep playing 'with a risk and a freedom' after impressing in England's 5-0 thrashing of Serbia

- By Miguel Delaney

Morgan Rogers says he will keep trying to “get fans off their seats”, as he admitted he was flattered by comparisons to Paul Gascoigne and that his best position is that central playmaking role.

The Aston Villa forward starred in England's emphatic 5-0 win away to Serbia, with Rogers hailing how everything just clicked because everyone knew their roles. He was key to that, especially with touches and interventions that accelerated and elevated the team's fine forward play. His flick for England's second goal, Noni Madueke's soaring lift, was indicative.

“That’s the way I like to play,” Rogers said. “I always want to create and kind of get fans off their seats. It’s not always going to work. I play with a risk and a freedom, and I know it’s not going to work always, but if I work hard every day and try and improve where I can, and it will come off more days than it won’t, so I’m happy it does.

“For that assist, you can hear Noni shouting really loudly, that he’s on the run, so when the ball comes, I know that he’s in on goal, and just to try and get anything on it into his path. And thankfully, it went perfect for him. But he still had a lot to do to finish it, so it's a really nice goal.”

Such a touch led Roy Keane to compare Rogers to Gascoigne on ITV punditry.