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Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney has advised Morgan Rogers to "adjust" in order to regain his form for Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old was met with sarcastic applause when he successfully passed the ball to Evann Guessand toward the end of Villa's Europa League victory over Bologna. This followed a period where Rogers struggled to make a significant impact in the attacking third, extending his goal drought to 19 matches for both club and country.
Rogers will be desperate to regain his form after being linked with Liverpool during the summer. The attacking midfielder scored 14 goals and provided 16 assists in all competitions last season.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Deeney cautioned Rogers not to rely solely on his impressive performance from the 2024-25 season.
"The problem he had was that he had one good season and everyone said how great he was," the former Watford captain said.
"The second season is when everyone starts going into games going 'Right, how do we stop him?' - and now he has to adjust and he has to go again."
Villa needs Rogers to start performing again after a slow start to the season.
The West Midlands club was knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brentford earlier this month and is still chasing its first Premier League win of the campaign.
Villa finds itself 18th in the Premier League.
Deeney added: "I do believe as a young player you believe, 'I am that guy.'
"But the beauty about sport is: what have you done for me lately?
"Everyone wants to know, 'What did you do for me this season?'
"Even the stuff with Ollie (Watkins), that was last season, or two seasons ago. No one cares anymore."
After Thursday night's match, Rogers' teammate Ezri Konsa spoke to TNT Sports and defended the young midfielder, commending his approach to the game.
Konsa said: "The good thing about him is that he keeps trying, no matter how many times he loses it, he keeps going, and for me that's really important."
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