Unai Emery takes aim at England after Morgan Rogers under-21 call
Unai Emery has hit out at England’s decision to call-up Morgan Rogers for the under-21s, claiming the Villa star is ready for senior international honours.
The 22-year-old, who has begun the season in impressive form, has been included in the U21s squad for matches against Northern Ireland and Austria but Emery thinks his player will gain little from the experience.
Though Emery respects interim Three Lions boss Lee Carsley’s decision to select others ahead of Rogers, the Villa chief thinks the U21s call is of little benefit to either player or his club.
He said: “What is a player like Morgan Rogers gaining by playing for the U21s? I am surprised.
“I respect that they are not calling him for the first team, but the second team? He is not a player for the second team. Hopefully, he will come back here in good shape.”
The Villa boss’ frustration would appear to stem largely from his previous experience with Jacob Ramsey, who made just 21 appearances last season after suffering a foot injury playing for England at the European U21s Championships.
“Last year, Ramsey came back injured and barely played all season which was very painful for us and we lost a lot without him,” said Emery.
“I thought Ramsey was ready to play in the senior (England) team. He played in the under-21s and he came here injured and he struggled all season.”
Carsley, who gave Rogers his U21s debut back in March, named a number of uncapped players in his first squad since stepping up to take charge of the senior squad following Gareth Southgate’s resignation.
But there was no place for Rogers, despite the interim boss being in attendance for last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal when the Villa man was the stand-out player for Emery’s side.
Rogers was then picked, along with club team-mate Jaden Philogene, by interim U21s boss Ben Futcher.
“Morgan played fantastic last week, fantastic. He is now ready to play in the England first team,” said Emery.
“If not, I accept it because there are other players as well. But do not call him up for the under-21s.
“His moment to play there is finished, it’s done. Now he is at another level. It’s completely clear he has gone to another level.”