Aston Villa are identifying new striker targets ahead of the summer transfer window despite welcoming Wesley Moraes back to first-team training, as reported by The Athletic.
You would need to have a heart of stone not to feel some pang of sympathy for a £22 million forgotten man.
After all, Wesley was forced to feed off scraps during a difficult first few months at Villa Park; his less-than-impressive goal tally as much down to the lack of cutting edge in Dean Smith’s frontline than anything else.
Flash forward to February 2021 and, with Wesley still recuperating from a long-standing cruciate ligament problem, Aston Villa have blossomed into one of the most creative, free-flowing attacking sides in the Premier League.
How many goals would the former Club Brugge ace have scored in this Villa team, with ammunition supplied so readily by Bertrand Traore, Matt Targett, Matty Cash and, of course, Jack Grealish?
Either way, with Ollie Watkins now firmly established as Dean Smith’s first-choice centre-forward, Wesley’s long-term future remains uncertain.
Even when the 24-year-old returns after 14 months out of action – and he is close to doing just that after joining in first-team training – it is hard to imagine him dislodging Watkins from Smith’s starting XI.
According to The Athletic, Villa are also scouring the market for a new number nine, drawing up a list of targets with just a few months until the window opens.
That horror injury against Burnley over a year ago brought a premature end to Wesley’s debut season in England. But did it also kill his Villa career before it got going?
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