Aston Villa £22m signing now a free agent at 27 after release

Former Aston Villa striker Wesley is on the search for a new club after his contract wasn't extended at his club.

Stoke City announced their retained list following the conclusion of the 2023/24 season and the Potters have announced that the Brazilian forward will depart the bet365 Stadium at the end of his current deal.

The 27-year-old was signed on a one-year deal by the Staffordshire club after leaving Aston Villa in the summer. Former Preston North End and Norwich City boss Alex Neil was in charge when he signed Wesley but he was relieved of his duties a few months in to the season and Wesley failed to hold down a place under Steven Schumacher.

He played in 23 matches in all competitions this season but failed to score a goal. He didn't feature in their last nine match day squads and his final game for the club ended up being as a 16-minute substitute against QPR in mid February.

Moraes will now be tasked with making a decision on his future and whether to continue in English football. He played 26 times for Aston Villa having joined from Club Brugge for a reported £22m, and scored six goals after being brought to the Premier League by Dean Smith.

He had a prolific scoring bell with Brugge after reaching double figures in back-to-back seasons, winning two league titles there in four-and-a-half seasons. He fell out of favour at Villa Park and returned for a brief loan spell and then was with Internacional and Levante on loan.

Wesley isn’t the only former Aston Villa player to be departing Stoke this summer as they have also announced that Ciaran Clark will depart. Clark began his career at Aston Villa and made 159 appearances for the club after making his debut in 2019 before departing for Newcastle United.

The 34-time Republic of Ireland international was limited to just three appearances with Stoke which came in November and December, with no place in a match day squad for the final 10 matches.

Thanking Wesley, Clark and the others who are departing, sporting director Jonathan Walters said: “Those departing do so knowing we are hugely grateful for their efforts during their time with the Club.

“The honour and privilege of having represented Stoke City is something we hope they remember fondly and that will never be taken away.

“We believe the decisions we are making now strike the right balance between continuity and opportunities to reshape the squad in pursuit of progress in 24/25, as we start to lay the foundations to build a successful future.”