Aston Villa have completed the signing of former Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka on a free transfer.
The Germany international, 31, was available after leaving Bayern in the summer after eight years at the club.
"I had a bit of long vacation, and it was a process to find out what I really wanted. From the first moment, I had a really good feeling, and I'm really happy to be here," Goretzka said.
"I had a good feeling from the first conversation with the coach. Aston Villa is a really big club.
"I want to help the team to achieve their goals and to bring my experience that I have from my whole career.
"I'm really looking forward to playing in these kinds of big games every few days, and this is probably the biggest difference to the Bundesliga, where you have only several great games with big opponents."
Villa lost their opening Premier Premier League fixture 4-0 at Brighton on Sunday and want boost their midfield options with Amadou Onana out until next year with a knee injury he suffered with Belgium at the World Cup.
Goretzka made 312 appearances for Bayern, scoring 51 times, during his time with the Bundesliga side. He also has 73 caps for Germany and made three appearances at the World Cup this summer.
He won seven league titles and the Champions League in 2020 with Bayern and will bring experience to Villa, who have lost several stars this summer.
Defender Ezri Konsa joined Arsenal for an initial £51m while forward Morgan Rogers was sold to Chelsea for £117m.
Midfield lynchpin Youri Tielemans joined Manchester United in July and left-back Lucas Digne returned to Paris St-Germain earlier this month.
Emery has also been unable to guarantee England striker Ollie Watkins will remain at Villa Park beyond the transfer deadline amid interest from Al-Hilal in Saudi.
For years, Goretzka was a cornerstone of Bayern Munich's midfield. But in recent years, the record German champions were not hiding their intentions to sell him for the right price.
He rejected a loan move to Galatasaray in 2024 while his sizeable wages at the Allianz Arena ruled out a number of potential destinations, as he was reluctant to accept a reduction in salary, and a move never came to fruition.
Instead his contract ran out in July, making him a free agent for the summer transfer window.
There was a time when Goretzka was considered Germany's best box-to-box midfielder.
His long build made him a force inside both penalty areas, while his ball-handling and tactical understanding helped him between the boxes. But his athleticism slowly faded over the years and younger players took his place.
Last season, Bayern manager Vincent Kompany primarily used Goretzka as a substitute, as did Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann during the World Cup this year.
Goretzka made three appearances for his national team, with 96 minutes in total playing time.
It is uncertain whether new Germany manager Jurgen Klopp will select Goretzka for international duty again.
A move to Aston Villa could certainly help the 31-year-old to revitalise his career, as he seemed stuck at Bayern where he spent a total of eight seasons.
When Goretzka arrived at Bayern from Schalke in 2018, he was revered as a modern type of midfielder, who could essentially play every position in the middle of the field.
Peter Neururer, Goretzka's coach at his hometown club of Bochum, called him a "once-in-a-century talent" when he was 18. The sky certainly seemed the limit in the 2010s.
While he has usually served as a number six, often playing alongside good friend Joshua Kimmich for Bayern and Germany, Goretzka has been used as an emergency centre-back and as a number 10 when needed.
Being slotted behind a striker highlighted Goretzka's strengths as a goalscorer.
His well-timed runs and stature made him a force in the air to convert crosses.
That skillset helped him at times to be picked by coaches when the competition in central midfield became increasingly tough.
As an example, Goretzka suddenly looked like a key player for Germany again in March and June 2025 when the national team played in the Nations League finals and he was employed in Nagelmann's starting line-up.
But these spells where he was able to shine became increasingly rare in recent years.
Injuries have plagued Goretzka from a young age to a degree that we will never exactly know where his true ceiling could have been in his 20s.
He rarely suffered severe injuries but had to deal with regular setbacks for a couple of years, and often in inopportune times.
Goretzka seemed to be at the height of his powers in the 2020-21 season, coming off a Champions League triumph with Bayern during the pandemic year.
But instead of being the engine for Germany's midfield at the European Championships in 2021, he missed the first group stage game due to the after-effect of a hamstring injury.
His only start came against England at Wembley in the round of 16.
When fit, Goretzka remained a starting XI player for Bayern until Kompany's arrival in 2024. And even then, following a first few months as a benchwarmer, he was able to fight his way back into the starting line-up.
However, the emergence of Aleksandar Pavlovic, a Munich-born midfielder and Bayern academy graduate, eventually sealed Goretzka's fate.
Goretzka repeatedly stated throughout the latter stage of his time at Bayern that he would fight for his spot but eventually had to accept the club hierarchy were not planning with him any longer.
The 31-year-old is certainly at a crossroads in his career. On the one hand, he has seven German championships, a Champions League title, a Club World Cup as well as 73 caps for Germany in his CV.
On the other hand, he and his camp thought he would attract the interest of major European clubs this summer, especially with him potentially signing on a free transfer. Goretzka was in concrete talks with AC Milan at one point, but that fell apart.
Aston Villa are likely not seen as a first-choice destination.
At the same time, it is not a given that Goretzka will be prominently featured in Unai Emery's line-up in the coming months.
Villa signed the rising Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi, one of the best young players in the Bundesliga last season. Like Goretzka, the 20-year-old is a tall box-to-box player who possesses greater athletic prowess.
It is feasible that Manzambi could adapt himself to the speed of the Premier League faster than Goretzka who had trouble keeping up with the pace in the World Cup when he was brought on by Nagelsmann.
In essence, Villa are bringing in valuable experience but how much Goretzka has left to give on the field remains to be seen.
