---
title: "Aston Villa had a howler with Wesley transfer"
canonical: "https://readastonvilla.com/2022/09/12/aston-villa-had-a-howler-with-wesley-transfer/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "James Thompson"
section: "Aston Villa News"
published: "2022-09-12T19:45:00Z"
modified: "2026-09-03T11:38:35Z"
---

# Aston Villa had a howler with Wesley transfer

[Aston Villa](https://readastonvilla.com/) have not been shy when it comes to diving into the transfer market and spending money on new [players](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/aston-villa/alletransfers/verein/405) since they came up from the Championship at the end of the 2018/19 [season](https://news.sky.com/story/aston-villa-promoted-to-the-premier-league-after-play-off-win-11729617).

One player that Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris spent a significant amount of money on that has now turned out to have been a rather bad decision for them is Wesley.

Signed during the 2019 summer transfer window from Club Brugge in a [deal](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11677/11741270/aston-villa-sign-wesley-moraes-from-club-brugge-for-22m) worth £22m, the striker only scored five goals in [21](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-moraes/leistungsdaten/spieler/381362/plus/0?saison=2019) league appearances in the 2019/20 campaign.

Unfortunately for the player, he sustained a cruciate ligament rupture in January that kept him out of [action](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-moraes/verletzungen/spieler/381362) for a full year, which then followed a knee injury that pushed his recovery back even further.

In addition to having a lower average of shots per game ([1.7](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/24/Archive/England-Aston-Villa?stageId=17590)) than the likes of Jack Grealish ([2](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/24/Archive/England-Aston-Villa?stageId=17590)) and John McGinn ([2](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/24/Archive/England-Aston-Villa?stageId=17590)), the striker also lost 92 aerial duels compared to the 58 he won, leaving him with a win percentage of [38.7%](https://fbref.com/en/squads/8602292d/2019-2020/Aston-Villa-Stats), which was lower than 12 outfield Villa players.

Since the summer of 2021, the 25-year-old has been on [loan](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-moraes/transfers/spieler/381362) with clubs such as Brugge, Internacional and Levante, where he currently is.

Having previously been [described](https://www.footballinsider247.com/not-convinced-exclusive-robinson-rips-into-aston-villa-player-who-started-v-leicester/) as a “burden” for Villa by Paul Robinson, Wesley now has six goals in 26 appearances for the club, meaning that he has cost Edens and Sawiris just over £3.6m per goal.

Bearing in mind how the Brazilian’s [contract](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-moraes/profil/spieler/381362) at Villa Park is set to expire in the summer, and he hasn’t been able to find the back of the net on even one occasion in [five](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/wesley-moraes/leistungsdaten/spieler/381362) league games for Levante in Spain’s second division, it should be in Steven Gerrard’s plans to get rid of the striker on a permanent basis in the summer.