Bellingham or Rogers: Who should be England's No.10?

For the first time since Jude Bellingham established himself as England's midfield talisman, there is a genuine alternative. Morgan Rogers arrives at the tournament on the back of a superb campaign for Aston Villa, and the numbers suggest this is far more than a sentimental debate.

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Looking purely at end product, Rogers has the stronger domestic season. The Villa attacker recorded 10 Premier League goals and six assists in 37 appearances, while Bellingham managed six goals and four assists in 28 La Liga matches for Real Madrid. Rogers finished with 16 direct goal involvements to Bellingham's 10.

However, Bellingham's reduced playing time changes the picture. The Real Madrid midfielder produced 0.47 goal contributions per 90 minutes compared with Rogers' 0.44, suggesting his attacking output remained marginally more efficient when on the pitch.

The creativity numbers are equally revealing. Bellingham averaged 1.69 key passes per 90 minutes in La Liga, compared with Rogers' 1.34 in the Premier League. His expected-assists figure of 0.27 per 90 also comfortably exceeded Rogers' 0.19. If the job description is creating chances for Kane, Bellingham comes out ahead.

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Yet Rogers is far from merely a finisher. His six assists and 49 key passes across the league season underline his ability to hurt opponents as both creator and scorer. More importantly, he offers a different type of threat.

Whereas Bellingham often arrives in dangerous areas through intelligent movement, Rogers prefers to drive at defenders directly.

Shooting volume paints another intriguing picture. Rogers averaged 2.30 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League, while Bellingham managed 2.39 in La Liga. Despite playing deeper for Real Madrid, Bellingham actually got into shooting positions slightly more frequently. His shot accuracy of 52.9 per cent also dwarfed Rogers' 38.1 per cent.

Then there is the all-round contribution. Bellingham completed almost 55 passes per 90 minutes at an 89 per cent success rate and averaged 2.49 tackles per game. Rogers completed around 29 passes per 90 at a 74.7 per cent completion rate.

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The Villa star is an outstanding attacking weapon, but Bellingham remains the more complete footballer.

Which leaves Tuchel with a fascinating decision. Rogers has a strong argument based on availability, consistency and raw output. Few Premier League attackers combined creativity, ball-carrying and goals as effectively during 2025-26.

But if the question is who has been the better No.10 by the numbers, Bellingham still edges it. He creates more chances, contributes more goals per minute, shoots more often, completes more dribbles (1.7 per 90 to Rogers' 1.2) and offers significantly greater control in possession.

The statistics do not dismiss Rogers' candidacy. Quite the opposite. They suggest England finally have a legitimate challenger to Bellingham's throne.

They just don't quite prove he should take it.

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