_12_(cropped).jpg) Wesley withClub Brugge in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wesley Moraes Ferreira da Silva[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-11-24)24 November 1996 (age 29)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Juiz de Fora, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shenzhen Peng City | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010 | Uberabinha | ||
| 2011 | Sport Juiz de Fora | ||
| 2012 | Uberabinha | ||
| 2013 | Sport Juiz de Fora | ||
| 2013 | Atlético Mineiro | ||
| 2013 | Tupi | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Itabuna | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Trenčín | 18 | (6) |
| 2016–2019 | Club Brugge | 107 | (32) |
| 2019–2023 | Aston Villa | 25 | (5) |
| 2021–2022 | →Club Brugge (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2022 | →Internacional (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | →Levante (loan) | 37 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | Stoke City | 20 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Fatih Karagümrük | 35 | (22) |
| 2025– | Shenzhen Peng City | 13 | (10) |
| International career | |||
| 2019 | Brazil | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 October 2025 | |||
Wesley Moraes Ferreira da Silva (born 24 November 1996), known asWesley orWesley Moraes, is a Brazilian professionalfootballer who plays as acentre forward forChinese Super League clubShenzhen Peng City.
He began his career at Brazilian sideItabuna before moving toTrenčín in theSlovak Super Liga and subsequentlyClub Brugge where he won two league titles and was namedBelgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year in 2018. He made his international debut forBrazil in November 2019.
As a youngster Moraes playedfutsal around his hometown of Juiz de Fora.[3] Moving to football, he represented both Associação Esportiva Uberabinha and Sport Club Juiz de Fora for different periods. In 2013, he also spent three months atAtlético Mineiro, but was released; in that year, he also played forTupi.[4]
Having joined local side Itabuna at eighteen, Wesley played semi-professionally in the state levelCampeonato Baiano in 2014,[5] but stayed at the club for just three months.[4] He later went on trial with European clubs including a lengthy six-month trial atAtlético Madrid's academy side where he played in tournaments inBilbao andCroatia, and later a three-month trial atAS Nancy; neither club offered him a professional contract.[6][7] Wesley also trialled with thenLigue 2 sideEvian.[6]
Wesley joinedAS Trenčín of theSlovak Super Liga in July 2015, who had become aware of him after his trials in Europe.[7] On 14 July 2015, he played for Trenčín againstFCSB in the second round of qualification of the 2015–2016 Champions League. He scored twice for Trenčín in the return match against FCSB, helping his side to a 3–2 win but the club did not proceed to the next round.[8]
Wesley moved toClub Brugge on 29 January 2016. He scored his first goal in his debut match againstKVC Westerlo. Brugges worked to tone down his aggression during games which led to a number of yellow cards and a sending off in his first season, he wore tape on his hands in a match againstRoyal Antwerp as a reminder to not react.[9]
On 13 June 2019, Wesley signed forAston Villa in thePremier League, for a fee of £22,000,000.[10] Following a week-long training camp with the rest of the squad, Wesley made his debut for Villa in a friendly match againstMinnesota United on 17 July 2019.[11] Wesley scored his first Villa goal in his third appearance, opening the scoring in the 2–0 win overEverton on 23 August, with a first time strike beatingJordan Pickford.
On 1 January 2020, Wesley suffered a severecruciate knee ligament injury after a tackle fromBurnley'sBen Mee. Wesley had scored earlier in the game, a 2–1 win. His injury was initially predicted to take around nine months to recover from.[12] However, the injury was more severe than first thought, and Wesley's time on the sidelines was much longer. He made his return to football on 26 March 2021, over a year later, playing for 45 minutes in a training ground friendly againstWest Bromwich Albion.[13]
Wesley made his return to competitive football on 25 April 2021, 480 days since his last game, as a late substitute in a 2–2 Premier League draw against West Bromwich Albion.[14]
On 28 August 2021, Wesley rejoined Club Brugge on a season-long loan.[15] He made his second debut for Brugge on 18 September 2021, in a 1–0 victory overCharleroi.[16]
On 7 January 2022, Wesley was recalled from his Club Brugge loan, and joined Brazilian clubInternacional on a 12-month loan.[17] On 29 January 2022, Wesley made his debut for Internacional – scoring a penalty in a 2–0 victory overFrederiquense in theCampeonato Gaúcho.[18]
On 22 July 2022, Wesley was recalled from his Brazilian loan and moved on loan toSegunda División clubLevante.[19] He made his debut on 12 August 2022, in a 0–0 draw withHuesca.[20] Wesley scored his first goal for the club on 3 January 2023, an injury time winner in a 3–2Copa del Rey victory overGetafe.[21]
On 28 July 2023, Wesley signed a one-year contract withStoke City.[22] After failing to score a single goal in 23 appearances for Stoke, Wesley was released at the end of his contract.[23][24]
On 10 August 2024, Wesley signed forTFF First League clubFatih Karagümrük on a free transfer.[25] The following day, Wesley made his debut as a substitute in a 0–0 draw againstAmed. On 18 August 2024, in his first start for Karagümrük, Wesley scored a brace in a 2–2 draw againstÇorum.[26]
On 2 July 2025, Wesley joinedChinese Super League clubShenzhen Peng City[27]
Wesley made his international debut forBrazil on 15 November 2019, coming off the bench in a 1–0 loss toArgentina.[28]
Wesley was born with one leg almost three centimetres shorter than the other, which has led to comparisons in his movement to legendary compatriotGarrincha.[3] He was also compared with former Aston Villa strikerChristian Benteke by Joseph Chapman from theBirmingham Mail, for his strong aerial threat while being confident with the ball at his feet.[29]
Wesley grew up in the city ofJuiz de Fora, around 200 kilometres fromRio de Janeiro.[9] His father was a footballer who played as a midfielder but only made a small amount of money from playing; Wesley credited his father as having taught him the game of football. His father became partially disabled later in his life and died following a brain tumour when Wesley was nine years of age.[9]
Wesley has three children from different relationships. He fathered his first two children, Yan and Maria Eduarda, as a teenager.[3][9] He had his first child at the age of 14 and his second at the age of 16.[30] As a sixteen-year-old he worked in a factory sorting screws to support his family between football trials before his move to AS Trencin.[9] He had another child with his new partner, Izadora Magluf, in December 2021.[31][32]
| Club | Season | League | State League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Itabuna | 2014 | Baiano 2ª Divisão | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Trenčín | 2015–16 | Slovak Super Liga | 18 | 6 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 2 | — | 22 | 8 | |||
| Club Brugge | 2015–16 | Belgian First Division A | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 25 | 6 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 5[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 32 | 6 | |||
| 2017–18 | Belgian First Division A | 38 | 11 | — | 5 | 2 | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 44 | 13 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 38 | 13 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 3 | 1[b] | 1 | 48 | 17 | |||
| Total | 107 | 32 | — | 7 | 2 | — | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 130 | 38 | ||||
| Aston Villa | 2019–20 | Premier League | 21 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 22 | 6 | |||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 6 | |||||
| Club Brugge (loan) | 2021–22 | Belgian First Division A | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Internacional (loan) | 2022 | Série A | 8 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
| Levante (loan) | 2022–23 | Segunda División | 37 | 3 | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | 2[f] | 0 | 43 | 4 | |||
| Stoke City | 2023–24 | Championship | 20 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Fatih Karagümrük | 2024–25 | TFF First League | 35 | 22 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 22 | ||||
| Shenzhen Peng City | 2025 | Chinese Super League | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 10 | |||||
| Career total | 266 | 78 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 319 | 89 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | |||
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
AS Trenčín
Club Brugge
Individual
Ciaran Clark and Wesley will also leave the bet365 Stadium following the expiration of their contracts.
