Aston Villa are building on the momentum of a remarkable 2025/26 campaign under Unai Emery.
The Villans secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League for a second straight season.
They also ended the campaign with silverware after defeating Freiburg in the Europa League final. That success has encouraged an ambitious summer rebuild at Villa Park.
Johan Manzambi is set to arrive from Freiburg in a club-record deal, while the club are also replacing the departing Youri Tielemans.
The need for midfield reinforcements has become even more urgent following Amadou Onana’s ACL injury.
Attention quickly turned towards one of the Premier League’s standout midfield performers despite his club’s difficult campaign.
According to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa are now close to completing the signing of Joao Gomes from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The report states that talks between the clubs progressed rapidly in recent days. Gomes has already left Wolverhampton Wanderers’ training camp in Portugal after saying goodbye to his teammates.
The 25-year-old will now undergo a medical before completing the move. Villa are will pay around £35 million for the Brazilian midfielder.
The Brazilian made 35 league appearances and established himself as one of the division’s most effective ball winners.
His performances stood out even as Wolverhampton Wanderers endured a miserable season that ended in relegation to the Championship.
An earlier move to Atletico Madrid collapsed after problems emerged between the Spanish club and his agent, Jorge Mendes.
Liverpool and Manchester United both explored deals as they looked to strengthen their own midfields this summer.
Gomes joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Flamengo in 2023 and went on to make 130 appearances for the club.
Aston Villa hope to wrap up the signing of Joao Gomes in the coming days as they look to add more bite to their midfield. No Premier League player has won more tackles than the 25yo over the last two seasons. Medicals are due for Gomes and Johan Manzambi. 🇧🇷 🇨🇭 #AVFC pic.twitter.com/cxBpBuWocy
— John Townley (@johntownley11) July 16, 2026
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