Aston Villa complete Joao Gomes signing as midfield rebuild continues

Villa will pay an initial 34 million pounds for the 25-year-old, with a further 4 million pounds due in performance-related add-ons, after beating competition from Atletico Madrid for his signature.

The move comes as Unai Emery continues to reshape his squad following significant changes in midfield. Youri Tielemans has departed for Manchester United, while Amadou Onana faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury while on World Cup duty with Belgium. Attacker Morgan Rogers is also expected to complete a club-record 117 million pounds move to Chelsea.

Gomes follows Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi through the door after Villa agreed a club-record deal worth more than 50 million pounds with Freiburg for the highly rated youngster earlier this week.

The Brazil international left Wolves' pre-season training camp in Portugal to undergo a medical and finalise the transfer after Villa accelerated negotiations.

Gomes joined Wolves from Flamengo in January 2023 and went on to make 130 appearances, scoring seven goals. He featured regularly last season, playing 41 matches across all competitions as Wolves endured a difficult campaign that ended with relegation from the Premier League.

Despite missing out on Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil World Cup squad, Gomes arrives at Villa Park with Premier League experience and is expected to play a key role as Emery rebuilds his midfield ahead of the new season.