Dean Smith backs Aston Villa record buy Wesley to find his feet in Premier League

The Brazil striker is yet to open his account since joining in a £22million move from Club Brugge and experienced another testing afternoon on Saturday, as Villa fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth.

But boss Smith has been pleased with his overall performances and believes a goal is all that is needed to get the 22-year-old well and truly firing.

He said: "Wesley did OK on Saturday. He had a couple of chances, the keeper's made a save, one's got deflected.

“He was a presence up front and ran down the sides as well at the end of the first half and again in the second.

"He's starting to get up to speed with the Premier League and it's going to take time for the few of them. I've been pleased with his performances so far and he just needs a goal now.”

Newly-promoted Villa are still waiting for their first points of the season following defeat to the Cherries.

Smith’s men were made to pay the price for a nightmare start which left them trailing 2-0 after just 12 minutes.

Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz scored a stunning goal on his full debut to bring them back into it but the equaliser remained elusive.

“Cutting out the mistakes is the major thing,” said Smith. “There were a couple of loose touches. I look at their victory and it's probably come off their mistakes.

“The game was littered with mistakes from both teams and they capitalised on ours.

"I don't think the speed of the Premier League has caught us out. We've adapted well to it and have had a tough start. I thought losing on Saturday was very harsh on us but it happens.”