Manchester City academy star Morgan Rogers has joined Championship club Blackpool on loan for the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old renews ties with Michael Appleton, who brought him to Lincoln City when he was manager in 2021. The winger, who has four caps and a goal for England Under-20s, was named in Pep Guardiola’s mid-season training trip to Abu Dhabi last month during the World Cup break.
He also featured in the friendly against Girona back in Manchester, starting the game before being taken off five minutes after the break amid an underwhelming outing. Rogers, then 17, arrived from West Brom in the summer of 2019 after making his senior debut for the Baggies in the FA Cup in the prior February.
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He had scored eight goals in 13 caps for England Under-17s when Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was at the helm. Rogers lifted the Premier League 2 title with City ’s Under-23s for his contribution during the first half of the 2020/21 season.
He then secured a full-term loan at Bournemouth last campaign where he scored just once in 17 outings. However, his time at Lincoln under Appleton during the second half of the 2020/21 term had been more successful, scoring six goals in 28 appearances and winning an EFL Young Player of the Month award as the side made it to the League One play-off final.
Speaking on linking back up with Rogers, now-Blackpool boss Appleton said: “Morgan is a player I know very well from the time I worked with him at Lincoln.
“The quality that he’s got will be there for everybody to see. He’s got a physical presence, he scores goals and he gets assists. The fact he knows how I want to play and how I do things is a bonus.”
Rogers himself added: “The club has been interested in me for a while now and I really can’t wait to get playing. I’ve worked with the gaffer previously and this move goes hand-in-hand.
“The fans here are great and I’m looking forward to playing in front of them and showing them what I’m about. I’m a player who likes to get the crowd off their feet, I like to be free and expressive with the way that I play. I just want to show what I’m capable of now.”
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