Aston Villa have officially confirmed the signing of midfielder Joao Gomes from Wolves, in a deal said to be worth around £35m.
The 25-year-old arrives from Wolves following their relegation from the Premier League last season, having made 130 appearances for them while scoring eight goals and six assists to go with his overall influence in midfield.
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Prior to that, he came through the youth ranks at Flamengo and he has earned 10 caps for Brazil thus far, and so the expectation is that he will continue to go from strength to strength under the guidance of Unai Emery.
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As per the club’s statement, Villa have now officially announced the signing of Gomes, and according to The Athletic, Villa have spent £35m to prise him away from Wolves while he has put pen to paper on a five-year contract.
It’s a pivotal signing for Emery given Youri Tielemans departed earlier this month to join Manchester United, while Amadou Onana could miss the entire season after suffering a knee injury at the World Cup.
In turn, reinforcements were needed in midfield this summer, and Gomes certainly addresses our need, albeit it remains to be seen who takes on the responsibility that Tielemans had in dictating and controlling possession for us with Boubacar Kamara returning from injury and perhaps stepping up in that regard too.
With his tenacity, technical quality and physicality, the Brazilian international has all the traits to be a fundamental presence in midfield for us, and having seen how Emery helped both Tielemans and Douglas Luiz develop into orchestrators for us, it will be fascinating to see how Gomes takes his game to the next level during his time at Villa.
Further incomings and outgoings are expected this summer as Villa pick up the pace with our rebuild, and so it promises to be a busy few weeks at the club to build on what we’ve already done to raise the level of the squad.
