Aston Villa striker Wesley joins Levante on season-long loan
Aston Villa have confirmed that striker Wesley has joined La Liga club Levante on a season-long loan, as announced on their official Twitter.
The Brazilian joined the club back in 2019 in a £22m deal, but struggled to make an impact in the Premier League and spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Club Brugge and Internacional.
But Villa cut both of those loan deals short after a lack of good performances, and have instead chosen to send him to Spain’s top flight for the 2022/23 season to get him back into a rhythm.
Wesley joined Villa as a highly-rated young striker but suffered a severe cruciate ligament injury in his knee and missed over 14 months of action.
With Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins having the striker positions sewn up in Steven Gerrard’s side, Wesley was seen as surplus to requirements at Villa Park.
Forgotten man
Wesley initially joined the club to great excitement and expectation after 17 goals in his final season as a Club Brugge player in 2018/19.
£22m was seen as a big outlay at the time and after six goals in 22 games during his first season he was quickly ousted before his serious injury.
He’s never really recovered from it, and the club have moved past the need to have him in the squad with their current attacking options plus the young players like Cameron Archer and Louie Barry coming through the academy.
Allowing him to leave for another club in Europe is the perfect way to set both parties back on their path and clears space in the squad for Gerrard to use the players he actually wants.
It was supposed to be a great story between Villa and Wesley but it never really worked out and he’ll forever be remembered as the forgotten man at the club who was once the most expensive player in the club’s history.
In other Aston Villa news, Steven Gerrard wants to sign another midfielder this summer