Aston Villa complete signing of ‘De Golden Schoen’ Wesley
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Club Brugge forward Wesley Moraes subject to a work permit and international clearance.
The striker will move to Villa after the two clubs agreed upon a club record transfer fee of £22 million.
Who is Wesley Moraes? Five things to know…
- Wesley Moraes scored 17 goals for Club Brugge last season in all competitions.
- The 22-year-old striker comes with European experience, scoring in both the Champions League and Europa League this season.
- Villa’s new signing was reportedly a target for fellow Premier League side Newcastle United.
- Former coach Ivan Leko once said that Wesley had the ability to play for Arsenal.
- Wesley becomes Aston Villa’s third signing of the summer after Jota and Anwar El Ghazi.
Aston Villa released a statement on their official club website confirming that the deal was completed subject to the acceptance of the Brazilian’s work permit.
Wesley has enjoyed great success in Belgium’s top division, helping Club Brugge win two league titles, two Belgian Super Cups, whilst improving upon his goalscoring record in both domestic and European competitions.
His ability was rightly awarded as he was crowned “De Golden Schoen”, an honour bestowed upon the best young player of the year in the Belgian Pro League.
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The £22 million transfer fee shows that Aston Villa means business since their return to the top-flight. Their previous highest transfer fee was the £18 million they spent on Darren Bent in 2011.
Speaking after their 2-1 play-off final victory against Derby County, manager Dean Smith teased that the club’s owners were prepared to dig deep to secure their status in the Premier League by the end of next season.
He said: “The potential of the football club is massive.
“It feels right that Villa are in the Premier League, the history and the size of the club, the fanbase that it has, I believe it is a Premier League club and that’s not me being a supporter.
“We’ve got two owners [Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens] who have got a lot of money, and are in it for the long haul.”
