Aston Villa have been on the rise following the arrival of Unai Emery, who has surpassed expectation since his return to the Premier League.
The Spaniard was the manager of Arsenal for 18 months before returning to Spain and has changed the scenery at Villa Park in a short amount of time after being welcomed to the Midlands back in October 2022.
Along with the improvements he made through the squad on the pitch, the four-time Europa League winner had a strong summer of business in the transfer window, welcoming five new faces.
While Villa have seen a positive time in the market of late, it hasn’t always been that way, with some deals prevailing as awful moves and a huge loss of finances to players that did not cut it.
One departure earlier this summer was one with the feel of being a long time coming, as Wesley Moraes was picked up by Stoke City in July.
How much did Wesley Moraes cost Aston Villa?
Signed by the Villans in 2019 from Club Brugge, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the striker’s arrival, who was part of a £22m deal.
The forward’s talents attracted Dean Smith after his impressive 2018/19 campaign in Belgium, where he scored ten goals and registered nine assists in the Jupiler Pro League.
At just 22, the Brazilian made a fast start to life in England, scoring four times within his first eight Premier League appearances, giving those associated with Villa something to be excited about.
Things quickly came crashing down for the striker, as he suffered a traumatic ACL injury against Burnley during the fixture that he scored in, with the injury being recognisably serious due to the mechanism of the challenge.
The £35k-per-week forward was absent for nearly 500 days as he battled rehabilitation and searched for match fitness, following an injury that subsequently ended his career at Villa.
Following his return, the former Brugge star played just 15 minutes in the Premier League in claret and blue, before heading out on three different loan spells in a bid to rediscover his form. That, however, was not forthcoming.
While he was away, the Brazilian managed to score just six goals in nearly three years, suggesting the toll that the injury had on his ability.
Picking up £1.8m a year from his salary at Villa, where he spent two full years and featured 26 times, the £35k-per-week forward cost the club an average of £846k per game he played when the aforementioned fee is considered. Indeed, this was unfortunately a deal that turned out to be horrendous for all involved.
Why was Wesley worth that much?
On his day, Wesley showcased the damage he could cause to the opposition with his fearless approach to play, however, his Premier League career turned out to ultimately be a failure.
While it was no fault of the player, who sustained such a horrific injury so early into his time at Villa, his services cost the club a pretty penny.
It’s hoped that the Brazil international with one cap can get the ball rolling again at Stoke, with manager Alex Neil hoping that the 26-year-old can “take off again” with the Potters.
Everyone associated with Aston Villa would relish in seeing their former player succeed once more, drawing a line under the expenses lost to facilitate his injury-riddled time with the club.