Joao Gomes Joins Aston Villa in £38m Deal for Champions League Ambitions

Joao Gomes is set to swap a relegated scrap for a Champions League push.

Aston Villa have struck a £38m deal for the Wolves midfielder, prising the Brazil international out of the club’s pre-season camp in Portugal as he prepares for a medical on Thursday. The agreement is structured at £34m up front, with a further £4m in add-ons.

For Villa, this is not a luxury signing. It is a necessity.

Unai Emery’s midfield has been stripped and bruised in a matter of weeks. Youri Tielemans has gone to Manchester United in a £35m move, while Amadou Onana faces the long road back after a serious knee injury suffered with Belgium at the World Cup ruled him out until next year. A core that once looked deep and balanced suddenly needs rebuilding on the fly.

So Villa have gone aggressive.

Gomes, 23, arrives as part of a double midfield overhaul, with the club also close to completing a club-record deal of more than £50m for Switzerland international Johan Manzambi from Freiburg. Two big fees, two very different profiles, one clear message: Villa intend to stay among the Premier League’s elite and handle the strain of European football.

The path to Gomes was not uncontested. Atletico Madrid had tracked him and explored a move, but never pushed a deal over the line. Villa did, and decisively.

For Wolves, the sale closes the chapter on one of their few bright spots in a bleak campaign. Gomes made 41 appearances last season as the club slid to the bottom of the Premier League, his relentless energy and bite often masking deeper structural problems around him. Since joining from Flamengo in 2023, he has played 130 times for Wolves, scoring seven goals and quickly becoming a fan favourite for his combative edge and willingness to take responsibility in difficult moments.

Now that edge is heading to Villa Park.

Emery will see a midfielder who can press, tackle, and carry the ball through traffic, a player hardened by a relegation fight but still young enough to grow into the demands of a side chasing trophies. Villa, already stretching their financial muscle for Manzambi, are betting that Gomes can handle the jump from survival mode to expectation.

The medical is the final hurdle. Once cleared, a Wolves stalwart of the last two seasons will walk into a dressing room that expects top-four challenges, not survival scraps.

How quickly he adapts could say a lot about where Villa finish this season—and how far this new, expensive midfield can take them.