Middlesbrough respond to Aston Villa's third bid for attacker with price tag outlined

Aston Villa have seen a third offer rejected by Middlesbrough for Morgan Rogers with the Championship side holding out for a fee of £12million, according to a report by The Telegraph.

Unai Emery is keen to lure the winger back to the Midlands this winter to bolster his attacking department. However, he will need to fork out more cash to land his signature having seen the first two bids rebuffed by Michael Carrick's side.

Rogers, 21, played for West Brom as a youngster before moving to Manchester City. He never made a senior appearance during his time on the books at the Etihad Stadium and was shipped out on loan to Lincoln City, AFC Bournemouth and Blackpool in the Football League to get some experience under his belt before he was given the green light to leave on a permanent basis by Pep Guardiola when Boro came calling.

The ex-England youth international has since become a key player at the Riverside Stadium and has chipped in with seven goals in all competitions.

Boro have no plans to sell him on the cheap and are holding firm as Aston Villa look to snatch the prospect away from them before the end of the transfer window later this week on Thursday.

Rogers would be a decent long-term option for Emery and someone who would add more competition and depth on the wing. However, they are yet to match his valuation and this is a saga that may well go down to the wire.