Morgan Rogers says loan spells gave him the foundation for Chelsea career

Morgan Rogers believes his loan spells away from Manchester City were vital in preparing him for life in senior football and ultimately helped shape the player now developing at Chelsea.

The midfielder made the transition from academy football through temporary moves to Lincoln City, Bournemouth and Blackpool before joining Middlesbrough permanently. He later returned to the Premier League with Aston Villa and eventually moved to Chelsea.

Speaking on the latest episode of CFC Unlocked, Rogers said the experiences he gained early in his career exposed him to challenges that could not be recreated in an academy environment.

“That was everything,” he said. “I needed that next challenge, that next step. I needed to get out my comfort zone and kind of find the player I was going to be in professional football.”

Rogers said playing regularly against experienced senior players forced him to adjust to the demands of competitive matches and helped him develop beyond the footballer he had been at youth level.

“I think the academy player that I was, if you watch me then, I don’t think it’s the same player that you see now week to week,” he said.

“I’m a completely different player and I had to learn that on loan.”

The midfielder added that while academy football could develop a player’s technical ability, it could not match the intensity, determination and tactical variety found in the professional game.

“The actual way the game is played, the desire from the other team to win, what it takes, what teams are willing to do, how they’re willing to play to win games, you can’t replicate that in academy football,” he said. “It’s only in men’s football.”

Rogers also believes those spells taught him how to respond to difficult moments, adjust to different styles of play and cope with the pressure of progressing to the next stage of his career.

“For me to get that experience so young and so early allowed me to kind of move on and move up with time,” he said.

“I’d had experiences of the good and the bad to be able to deal with knocks and to be able to deal with playing in different types of ways.”

He spoke too about his ambition to influence every game and reflected on the journey from working as a ball boy at West Bromwich Albion to becoming a Premier League player.

“I wasn’t ready. I needed time to develop, to learn, to understand myself more and to be here now at the level I know I can get to,” Rogers said.

His previous experience is now providing the platform for his continued development at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s next Premier League match is against AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, October 10.