Villa’s former club record signing Wesley Moraes looks set to be heading back to South America, cutting short a loan move to Jupiler Pro League side Club Brugge.
The 25 year old striker has endured a torrid time after suffering a horror knee injury at Turf Moor on New Years Day 2020. A protracted and problem ridden recuperation did little to aid his recovery, and Villa unevitably moved on by recruiting replacements in Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings. We don’t talk about Aly Samatta or Borja Baston.
As inevitable as Villa’s need to replace Wesley is his exit, albeit on a further loan. The Brazilian, capped by his country, had been expected to join Sao Paulo, but instead he will link up with [Sport Club] Internacional. ‘Inter’, a Brazilian Serie A outfit, ply their trade at Estádio Beira-Rio (Riverside), which was one of the 2014 World Cup venues.
Wesley landed in Porto Alegre on Thursday, where local reports confirmed he would under-go a medical before concluding a move to ‘Inter’ for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign.
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Embed from Getty ImagesWho doesn’t love a transfer saga that involves great uncertainty? What started as an ambitious rumour, has since developed into a more concrete transfer link after it was confirmed that Villa had made a tentative approach for the Barcelona midfielder.
Though there remains lots of noise and commentary from a number of more than dubious sources, it does at this stage appear that whilst still ambitious, that Villa have expressed an interest.
Whether this interest can develop into advanced negotiations and an agreement remains to be seen, in what most feasibly would involve a 6 month loan move to Villa Park.
If succesfully completed, any deal would represent a significant coup for Villa and though it would come with obvious risk, the club would suddenly possess an outstanding proven talent.
As remarked elsewhere, such a move has the potential to stand out against a policy of youth recruitment and well measured acquisitions through a strategic transfer policy. However, the attributes of a footballer such as Philippe Coutinho most certainly align to the Christian Purslow mantra of “continuous improvement” if fulfilled.
Villa boss and former team-mate Steven Gerrard has so far refused to make any comment on the rumours surrounding Coutinho. Gerrard has though spoken warmly previously of the Brazilian, commenting specifically about the respectful and professional manner in which he conducted himself ahead of a huge £140m move to the Camp Nou.
The 29 year old, said to be ‘painfully shy‘, struggled to adapt to life at Barcelona, a club that’s experienced financial turmoil which now sits in stark contrast to the Catalan teams years of consistent success. Deemed surplus to requirements, despite ironically winning a Champions League whilst loaned out to Bayern Munich, Villa are currently odds on favourites to secure this shock signing. Watch this space!
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