Middlesbrough: Carrick on Morgan Rogers amid Aston Villa interest

Aston Villa’s continued interest in forward Morgan Rogers has Michael Carrick insisting he has “no reason to believe” the player won’t remain at Middlesbrough at the end of the January transfer window.

Tuesday night’s 6-1 loss at Stamford Bridge saw Rogers score a stunning goal for Boro, ending Carrick’s team’s miserable Carabao Cup run against Chelsea.

The FA Cup action for Tony Mowbray’s team forced the postponement of Saturday’s planned match against

Birmingham City. Boro won’t play again until Sunderland visits the Riverside a

week later on Sunday, at which point the January window will have closed.

Asked whether he still believes Rogers will be a Boro player at that stage, Carrick said: “You’ll keep reading a lot of

things at this time of year, don’t read too much into it to be honest.

“He’s our player at the minute so I have no reason to believe anything otherwise.”

Rogers is reportedly Villa’s top January target, and the team has reportedly had

two bids for the 21-year-old rejected this week.

The Premier League team is anticipated to make a stronger offer upon their

return, but Boro will not back down until their asking price is paid. Rogers’

contract is set to expire in three and a half years.