Stoke City call hammers home big £22m Aston Villa mistake: View | OneFootball

Wesley has been released by Stoke City following a goalless season.

The former Aston Villa and Club Brugge forward was signed under Alex Neil's leadership at the club, putting pen to paper last summer on a one-year deal. Since Neil's sacking, Wesley has been out of favour under manager Steven Schumacher and hasn't appeared in their last nine matchday squads. His final appearance for The Potters would come in an unremarkable substitute appearance against QPR in mid-February.

He was stated as leaving the club following the expiry of his contract on Stoke's released and retained list. His fall from Aston Villa's record transfer signing in 2019, to becoming a free agent after his release at Stoke hammers home his disappointing career and the struggle he has had since coming to England at 22.

Wesley's future in football now looks unclear as the former hot-property forward becomes a free agent ahead of the 2024/25 season. Where did it all go wrong for one-time Brazilian international Wesley Moraes, though?

Wesley drew eyes in the Belgian Pro League

The 27-year-old has had a turbulent playing career since his arrival in England from Club Brugge in the summer of 2019. He was a hot prospect and a kid with bags of potential in the Belgian Pro League, playing for the elite Belgian club for four seasons.

Star performances, like his hat-trick against K.A.A Gent, brought attention to him at a very young age. He had an apparent talent for hold up play and a knack for physical striking, in a similar vein to Romelu Lukaku when he came through the ranks at R.S.C Anderlecht.

During that period, he helped his side win two league titles and two Belgian Super Cups. His record was decent but not incredible in the league, netting 38 times in 130 appearances. His potential was seen nevertheless and a move to Aston Villa was finalised for a whopping £22 million.

On the books at Aston Villa

In just shy of two years in Birmingham, Wesley scored six times in 26 appearances to cement himself as a disappointing transfer. He returned to Club Brugge on loan on a short-term deal from August 2021 to January 2022, where he played just six times and didn't score for the club where he was once a reliable talisman.

He was recalled by his parent club and sent out to play for Internacional for the remainder of the campaign, where he did score twice in 21 matches in Brazil. This was a sign that Wesley still had goalscoring ability, yet still was surplus to requirements upon his return to Villa Park.

The third and final loan move for Wesley in the summer of 2022 would be his most successful, playing 43 times for Levante in a year-long stint at the club that would see him bag four times. Clearly unwanted still, he was released by a Villa side now under the watch of Unai Emery, who had the reliable Ollie Watkins in his front-line. During his sizable stint at Villa, he saw the managerial turnovers of Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and then the signing of Emery; an unusual longevity for an out-of-favour player!

The struggle at Stoke

His year-stay at Stoke, playing in the Championship, feels like something of a career low for Wesley. He joins a list of strikers for the second division club who've failed to live up to expectations.

The club’s lowest finish in 21 years nearly saw them drop to League One, being saved by a late flurry of wins against Southampton and Plymouth Argyle. This is where the striking talents of the likes of Wesley have been missing, but it is nothing out of the ordinary for Stoke, who consistently seem to bring in the wrong players.

His £9,000 per week contract, according to Salary Sport and their estimates, is an eye-watering amount given his contribution at the bet365 Stadium. Potters' fans will surely be glad to see the back of the striker, compounding just how atrocious the initial £22 million outlay was for Aston Villa just five years ago.