Birmingham, July 20: Aston Villa signed Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes on Monday, investing some of the money the Europa League winner is set to get for a British transfer record sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea.
Villa did not disclose the transfer fee it paid now-relegated Wolverhampton for the 25-year-old Gomes, which was reported to be 35 million pounds (USD 47 million).
Gomes arrives days after club record signing Johan Manzambi, who cost more than 50 million pounds (USD 67 million) from Freiburg after a stellar World Cup with Switzerland.
Gomes has played 10 times for Brazil though not for current coach Carlo Ancelotti. His last appearance was a World Cup qualifying game in March last year that Argentina won 4-1.
Also on Monday, Villa star Rogers was at Chelsea completing a 117 million pounds (USD 157.4 million) move after returning from the World Cup with England.
Villa coach Unai Emery will lead his team into Premier League and Champions League campaigns with major changes in midfield.
Youri Tielemans has left to join Manchester United, in a reported 35 million pounds (USD 47 million) transfer, and his Belgium teammate Amadou Onana will be out for months after rupturing an ACL at the World Cup in a 4-1 win over the United States.
United States-backed Villa’s profit on transfer dealings will help comply with financial monitoring rules after back-to-back years being fined by UEFA.
UEFA imposed financial penalties of 7.5 million euros (USD 8.6 million) last month and 11 million euros (USD 12.6 million) one year ago.
Aston Villa however, should have earned about 40 million euros (USD 45.7 million) in UEFA prize money for its Europa League title win and can look to double that from Champions League games starting in September.
On the other hand, the club also will lose revenue next season by closing one end of Villa Park during construction work that will raise the capacity above 50,000 before hosting games at the 2028 European Championship. (AP)
