Aston Villa have completed the signing of midfielder Joao Gomes from Wolves for an initial $45.6 million, with $5.4 million in potential add-ons bringing the total to $50.9 million. The Brazil international underwent a medical Thursday after leaving Wolves' preseason training camp in Portugal to finalize the move.

The signing follows Villa's club-record deal for Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi, completed Friday for more than $67 million, a transfer that saw Villa beat out Newcastle for the Switzerland international. Atletico Madrid had also shown interest in Gomes before Villa completed the deal.

Villa's midfield has undergone significant turnover this summer. Amadou Onana will be out until next year after suffering a serious knee injury with Belgium at the World Cup, and Villa has also sold Youri Tielemans to Manchester United for $46.9 million. Fellow midfielder Morgan Rogers is departing as well, with a $156.8 million deal agreed with Chelsea.

Gomes made 41 appearances for Wolves last season and was named the club's Player of the Year despite the team finishing bottom of the Premier League. He totaled 130 appearances and seven goals for Wolves after joining from Flamengo in 2023.

Wolves technical director Matt Jackson praised Gomes following the transfer.

"Joao deserves everything he gets from the game," said Jackson. "He's a model professional, a lovely young man and a great family man. He's the type of professional coaches love and players love, so he will go on to be the outstanding player that we know he is. We're obviously sorry to see him go, but we have to take responsible decisions for the football club, and then we build to be stronger collectively."

Gomes arrives with strong underlying numbers from last season, ranking third in the Premier League for tackles with 107, trailing only Everton's James Garner and Joao Palhinha, who spent last season on loan at Tottenham from Bayern Munich. Gomes also ranked fourth in the league for ball recoveries with 194 and eighth for interceptions, while making more than 1,800 pressing attempts, among the busiest totals in the division.

He featured in 35 of Wolves' 38 league matches last season and ranked sixth in the Premier League for passes received under pressure, underscoring his reliability and comfort operating in tight spaces. Villa manager Unai Emery is expected to lean on that experience as Gomes steps into a central midfield role alongside Boubacar Kamara, who is set to return from his own knee injury suffered in January.