£20m+ verdict shared as Wesley quits Aston Villa for good

We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…

Alan Hutton is thrilled for Wesley Moraes after the striker’s permanent move from Aston Villa to Stoke City was confirmed last week.

Wesley, 26, has struggled since joining the Villans from Club Brugge for £22million in June 2019, playing just 26 times in all competitions for the West Midlands club.

He’s had to contend with a severe knee injury and has also been sent on loan to Belgian giants Club Brugge, Internacional in Brazil and Spanish side Levante.

However, Wesley’s three loan stints away from Villa Park haven’t been great with the striker scoring just six times across all three spells.

Wesley has now left Birmingham to head to Stoke and Hutton is not only happy for the Brazilian but he’s also pleased to see Unai Emery freeing up some space to potentially make more signings before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

“They’re cutting the wage bill and trimming down the squad,” Hutton told Villa News.

“Wesley was a big signing when he came to Villa, it was over £20million but it didn’t work out. He had a really bad injury and he obviously struggled off the back of that.

“To see him move on is excellent for him.

“He’ll want to play football and that’s been difficult for him since he joined the club.

“You could never really see a future for him at Aston Villa so freeing up some space maybe allows Unai Emery to bring somebody else in in other positions in the pitch.

“I’m happy for Wesley and I’m pleased for the manager if he can bring somebody in.”

Wesley scored three goals in 36 LaLiga2 appearances at Levante last season, adding another goal in a Copa del Rey win over Getafe.

All three of those league goals were scored in April and May, which suggests the now-former Aston Villa player is finally getting back to his best.

In other Aston Villa news, a big-name exit is on the cards at Villa Park if a “decent” bid is made.