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Aston Villa look ever-more likely to smash their transfer record with Brazilian striker Wesley all-but-done as the club await his work permit.
Words by Mark Jirobe | @VillaMarkPGH
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Aston Villa have landed their first major signing of the summer with Brazilian striker Wesley putting pen to paper from Belgium Club Brugge.
The six-foot, three-inch striker almost looks like a carbon copy of former Villa talisman Christian Benteke, in terms of ability. Wesley has deceptive speed for a player of his size and has a flair for setting his teammates up through stylistic passes and intelligent play. Wesley’s time at Club Brugge was a successful stint over the past four seasons.
He helped his team to win two Belgian Super Cups and two League Titles. An impressive 17 goals last season will make any Aston Villa supporter froth at the mouth over this replacement to Tammy Abraham, who now looks to be handed game time at Chelsea.
The only hangup with Wesley joining Aston Villa is paperwork. Aston Villa reportedly splashed £22,000,000 for his services, but work permits and international clearances are the very last detail to get this deal over the line.
Wesley does not qualify for a work permit out of the gate, but he has played in the Champions League. This means that the Exception Panel will have to review and make a decision on the young strikers permit issues, which Aston Villa are confident of happening in their favor.
You can view the Premier League’s rules regarding work permits here.
Capturing Wesley’s signature is a big deal for Aston Villa and no mistake can be made about it. The price-tag of the player, mixed with his proven ability at such a young age makes this one of the more exciting transfers that Aston Villa supporters have seen in some time. There will be more signings in the coming weeks, but the ambition shown by Villa here is everything the supporters of the Midlands club are looking for.
