João Gomes
CDMCM
Brazil25 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CDM
Defensive midfieldMain
4,191 min · 55 apps · 47 starts
CM
Central midfield
1,932 min · 23 apps · 23 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Aston Villa · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement73%
Performance48%
Through the match on 24 Oct 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
João Gomes is a midfielder whose first instinct is often to close space before an opponent can use it. At Wolves, he chased loose touches, pressed quickly after his side lost possession and tackled across the middle of the pitch. That work helped turn recoveries into attacks rather than simply shielding the defence.
He developed at Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, breaking into the senior side in 2020. Gomes gave an attack-heavy team balance by covering ground behind its forwards. He was part of the Flamengo side that won the Brazilian league title for the 2020 season, then helped the club win both the Copa do Brasil and Copa Libertadores in 2022.
Wolves brought him to England in January 2023. His Premier League debut at Southampton showed another side of his game: coming off the bench with Wolves behind, he advanced from midfield and scored the late winner. It was an early sign that his ball-winning role did not confine him to his own half.
In February 2024, Gomes scored both Wolves goals in a 2–1 league win away to Tottenham. One came from a corner; the other finished a break launched from a Tottenham corner. The goals were unusual for a midfielder whose main contribution was disrupting attacks, but the second illustrated how quickly he could join a move after a change of possession.
His form at Wolves brought a Brazil debut against England at Wembley in March 2024. He later started Brazil's four games at that summer's Copa América, which ended for the team in a quarter-final penalty defeat to Uruguay.
Gomes also adjusted his play in possession. He explained that the faster pace in England forced him to reduce extra touches and move the ball sooner. In Wolves' 2024/25 midfield partnership with André, the pair closed central passing lanes in front of a back three; Gomes pressed and tackled while the unit protected space behind them.
Wolves' supporters named him their Player of the Season after 2024/25. Following another season at Molineux, he joined Aston Villa in July 2026. His route from Flamengo's balancing midfielder to an English league ball-winner shows why his value is as much about what happens immediately after possession changes as the tackle itself.