Aston Villa are ready to take a 60% hit on the fee the Premier League side paid Club Brugge for Wesley Moraes after allowing Levante to sign the striker on loan with an option to buy.
That’s according to the Express & Star, who report the Villans have allowed Levante to hire Wesley for the 2022/23 season. Their deal for the Brazilian’s temporary move to the Ciutat de Valencia also includes an option for Granotes to buy the forward if they seal promotion.
- Crystal Palace’s 22/23 XI with £20M West Ham target leading 4 new signings
- Jude Bellingham and Celtic ace lead Birmingham XI if they ket their top stars
Wesley has accepted a loan move to Levante in a bid to revive his career after the 25-year-old cut short his spell with Internacional. Aston Villa had sent the attacker to the Brazilian Serie A side on an 18 month deal in January, but fell out of favour after they changed boss.
Levante sign Wesley on loan from Aston Villa after ending Internacional spell
Wesley only made five of his 19 appearances with Internacional after Mano Menezes took over the helm in April. He additionally failed to score a single goal after Alexander Medina left, having also only hit the back of the net twice under the current Velez Sarsfield gaffer.
Steven Gerrard did not see a role for Wesley back at Aston Villa for the new season, having struggled for form in Brazil. So, the Villans boss has agreed to send him to Spain’s second-tier for the season with an option to buy set at £9m if he helps Granotes to win promotion.
The fee that Aston Villa and Levante have now agreed for Granotes to sign Wesley on loan is worth just 40% of what Dean Smith paid Club Brugge in 2019. Villa paid the Belgian side an initial £22m after he struck 17 goals, but have only seen the investment return six goals.
Wesley hit five of his Aston Villa goals to date over 21 games through the 2019/20 Premier League term, too. He has since failed to find the net in four games after suffering a season-ending cruciate ligament rupture in January 2020 that sidelined the forward until April ‘21.
Levante and Aston Villa may hope loan leads to permanent transfer
Levante now represents the forward’s third temporary team since the injury, having also returned to Club Brugge in 2021. So, with Wesley now having two years remaining on his contract and Granotes’ option to buy, he may have played his final game with Aston Villa.
Ciutat de Valencia chiefs will hope they see the star Robert Rybnicek once called ‘so quick’ and ‘special’, via The Guardian, after working with Wesley at Trencin. Gerrard could also hope he proves a hit in Spain’s second-tier to permanently move the forward on in 2023.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
