Arriving at a new club, in a new country can be hard enough, never mind when you’re replacing a much-loved player as well.
That’s the situation Wesley Moraes had to deal with this summer. He joined Aston Villa in a £22.5m from Club Brugge as Villa sought out a replacement for Tammy Abraham.
The Chelsea striker spent last season on loan at Villa Park and proved to be an astonishingly good capture, scoring 26 goals in all competitions to fire Villa back to the Premier League.
He was naturally a huge fan favourite, and that put the pressure on Wesley to hit the ground running and fill the void left by Abraham’s return to Chelsea.
That’s something he’s half managed to do, with four goals in his first eight games a solid return for a 22-year-old in his first season in England.
“What I have already seen on supporter forums is not always so sweet to Wesley. It’s as if Aston Villa have bought a schlemiel (Yiddish word for incompetent person/fool),” he told Sporza.
“Last season, Tammy Abraham scored 25 times in the Championship and was the big hero in the promotion. In the minds of many, he (Wesley) was Abraham’s successor.
“The expectations were very high. They thought that Wesley would score one goal after another. He scored after three games against Everton and after six against Arsenal, but that last match was lost. Then fans quickly forget a goal.
“I also had doubts after the first match days. At Club Brugge, he was very useful for the team, but he was not a scoring machine in Belgium either.
“Moreover, Aston Villa has no other killers in their selection. Physically he is strong, but often he is swimming alone up front.”
However, he feels time should help the player.
He added: “Smith continues to say that patience is needed with Wesley. Also, remember that he ended up in the Premier League as a Brazilian who played in Belgium. That requires an adjustment.
“Aston Villa bought a lot of new players after the promotion. You see the automatisms slowly creeping into the team. That will help Wesley. Moreover, he also scored twice against Norwich. It is only Norwich, but a striker who scores, it helps builds confidence.”
