ASTON Villa head coach Unai Emery has hailed the versatility and potential of new signing Morgan Rogers.

Rogers joined Villa from Middlesbrough on deadline day for a deal which could eventually rise to £16m.

The 21-year-old only joined Boro last summer and made just 14 Championship starts before he was identified by Emery as Villa's top January target.

Villa had three bids knocked back before they eventually met Boro's asking price and landed their man, with the move confirmed on deadline day.

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“Morgan is a young player, a talented player, who is from here,” said Emery.

“We were following him, and he played against us with Middlesbrough.

“We analysed him and I think for a lot of things; he’s young, his potential is big, he’s from Birmingham. We added one player in the squad who can play as a number eight, a number 10 or sometimes as a striker.

“His skills will be important for us.”