Aston Villa confirmed the signing of German midfielder Leon Goretzka on Thursday, making him the seventh new signing of the summer as he joins on a free transfer.
The 31-year-old brings a wealth of experience having made 559 club appearances, including 312 for Bayern Munich, where he spent the last eight seasons before leaving at the end of his contract.
In Goretzka, Villa have found a replacement for Amadou Onana, who is expected to miss the majority of the 2026/27 season with a knee injury sustained at the World Cup.
He completes a new-look core midfield three, along with Boubacar Kamara and João Gomes competing for two starting spots each week. The big question is how this trio compares to the previous iteration of Kamara, Onana and Youri Tielemans.
Goretzka’s percentile ranks among defensive midfielders in the Bundesliga last season help to illustrate the role he could potentially play in Villa’s engine room:
While Goretzka has in theory arrived to fill in for Onana, his profile actually has shades of Tielemans, specifically in terms of his high-level passing ability.
Gomes was always a curious replacement for Tielemans as he has not offered much in terms of ball progression or chance creation earlier in his career. Goretzka, along with Kamara, should be able to help bridge that gap.
His ranks not only for pass accuracy, but the volume of successful passes played, indicates an ability to be metronomic in midfield and have the game run through him. Compared to the more chaotic style of Gomes, Goretzka and Kamara should be able to dictate the rhythm of games better.
Where Onana and Goretzka are similar is in stature and athleticism. Although no one can quite match the freakish range of Onana, the 6’2” German uses his long strides to cover a lot of ground in midfield and can go on driving runs with the ball.
He has also been a regular goal threat throughout his career, which is an underrated strength of Onana when he plays. Goretzka scored five times in the Bundesliga last season and added another three assists.
The midfielder can take free-kicks and is also an aerial threat in the opposition penalty area, as Onana has been in recent years.
In terms of weaknesses, the most notable one for Goretzka is that he is nowhere near as strong in duels as Onana, and will not provide as much of a defensive contribution.
He is not a non-factor, but he is a downgrade on even Tielemans in that aspect, who did not get enough credit for the defensive work he did for Villa. Goretzka ranked in just the 18th percentile for tackles among Bundesliga defensive midfielders last year.
This is presumably where Gomes will be expected to make up the difference. Between Kamara, Gomes and Goretzka, the hope will be that their skillsets complement each other, giving Villa options to suit whatever type of game they are expecting to face.
The obvious question with Goretzka will be whether he is in decline at 31, and whether he can successfully make the transition to the Premier League at that age.
To answer the first question, here are his average match ratings from WhoScored in the Bundesliga since the 2020/21 season:
- 2020/21: 7.20
- 2021/22: 7.08
- 2022/23: 6.89
- 2023/24: 7.08
- 2024/25: 6.80
- 2025/26: 6.92
Goretzka may not be hitting the same heights as he did previously as a younger player, but he rebounded from a less impressive 2024/25 season with a stronger showing last campaign, when he was ranked as the Bundesliga’s 8th best central midfielder.
Off the pitch, he is believed to be a strong standard setter in training, and his leadership and experience could be vital for a Villa side which has lost so many central figures this summer, with Ezri Konsa the latest to depart Ollie Watkins potentially following him out the exit door.
Picking up Goretzka on a free transfer could prove to be an astute signing for Villa as they begin a new chapter.
Add us as a preferred source on Google