For a second successive summer Aston Villa are smashing their transfer record for a player who has taken the Championship by storm. Many will argue spending £30-odd-million pound especially for a club of Villa’s standing, a huge financial risk, considering the current climate the UK is in during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, in the case of Norwich’s brilliant Argentine chief-creator Emiliano Buendia, that amount has got to be considered as an astute piece of business.
Buendia’s £33million arrival from Championship title winners Norwich, signing a five-year-deal with the fee potentially arising to £38 million depending on various add-ons breaks the record set by Ollie Watkins’ capture from Brentford last summer.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of one of the UK’s most devastating and lethal creators. Yes, we’ve constantly marveled at the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden over the past year but mark these words; Buendia is on the same level playing field.
As controversial as it may sound, if you’ve watched the Argentinian magician over the past couple seasons, you’d be mad not to agree with such a statement.
Emiliano Buendia will be back where he belongs next season, playing Premier League football, but not in the colours of Norwich. A big-money move was always on the horizon for him after three remarkable consecutive campaigns in English football, and the new Argentine international has somewhat formed a growing reputation as one of the country’s most complete attacking midfielders.
Despite Arsenal’s interest, Villa reportedly was the move the forward wanted and the West Midlands club will be awfully glad they’ve managed to capture Buendia under the noses of Arsenal and as early as they have done, providing him with the ample opportunity to acclimatize to his new surroundings and contribute to a full pre-season with his new club.
Next season, Aston Villa will be a force to be reckoned with. The signing of Emiliano Buendia has almost guaranteed that, but more importantly Villa have addressed a souring need in their squad – attempting to ease the creative burden on Jack Grealish. With both players in Dean Smith’s weaponry, the former Brentford manager will be drooling at the sight of his potentially formidable attack next season.
Aston Villa have massively progressed since their survival from relegation at the end of the 2019/20 campaign, and their 11th placed finished at the end of the current campaign is a significant representation of the giant strides Dean Smith and his side have made in such a short space of time. Recording one of the best defences in the league, only just conceding 46 goals, its in attack where Dean Smith felt he needed more quality.
The capture of Ollie Watkins from Brentford was a huge success, scoring 14 Premier League goals and also the signing of Bertrand Traore proved a much-needed boost to the whole squad. Still, during Jack Grealish’s considerable stint on the sidelines from February to mid-May significantly affected Aston Villa’s ability to score goals and create chances.
Ross Barkley was supposed to be the answer, after starting so well for the club, his campaign tailed off after injury. Villa heavily relied on the likes of John McGinn, Bertrand Traore and Anwar El Ghazi to link up with Ollie Watkins as well as calling on academy product Jacob Ramsey. Because of that Villa’s Premier League form suffered, only winning three games out of 12 since Jack Grealish’s shin injury against Brighton in February.
The club needed extra quality in the final third, and they have only gone and addressed that issue superbly. The signing of Emiliano Buendia may just be Villa’s best piece of business over the past decade. The 24-year-old was one of the Premier League’s most supreme performers in the final third during his maiden English top-flight campaign, recording 7 assists, and creating 70 clear-cut chances, the third best that campaign creating one more than his future teammate Jack Grealish.
This campaign, Emiliano Buendia has only furthered his education in England all the more impressively. One again, standing out as one of the best attacking midfielders in the country, despite playing in the second division. The midfielder recorded an extraordinary 15 goals, and 16 assists from 39 appearances helping Norwich to another direct promotion to the Premier League.
Those numbers alone tell its own story, that Emiliano Buendia will indeed take Aston Villa’s game to a whole new level during the 2021/22 Premier League campaign. Certainly, in terms of his influence in the final third, Buendia is up there with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Mason Mount.
Buendia is finally where he belongs again, playing top-level football and he is certainly here to stay.
So what will Buendia bring to Dean Smith’s progressive Villa team? You only need to put it in simple terms.
Emiliano Buendia will bring a whole lot of fine-tuning to Aston Villa’s attack, a ruthless edge and a charismatic presence in the final third that the club so dearly lacks in Jack Grealish’s absence. Buendia is a player of substance, a player built for when the going gets tough, but one who on so many occasions, holds the propensity to consistently drag his team out of trouble.
The Argentinian midfielder is an intelligent player, a mastermind in the final third. Capable of the extraordinary, whether its an eye-of-the-needle pass, a silky trick, a clever run off the ball or a sumptuous link-up play with his striker, Buendia constantly proved the key jigsaw in Norwich’s attacking puzzle. Drifting in off the right-hand side, everything went through him. Whenever Norwich needed the inspiration he provided it. 15 goals and 16 assists last season is simply outstanding, statistics both Kevin De Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes would be proud of.
Creativity, vision, technique, hunger, drive, determination and a real eye for goal. Buendia has what it takes to be a top-tier Premier League player. However, the 24-year-old cannot simply be plainly defined by his efforts in the final third but his work off the ball is just as impressive and a feature that Aston Villa will be highly thankful for.
Emi Buendia is a pressing machine, a player who’s energy, tenacity and doggedness out of possession is incredibly infectious. When he starts off the press, everyone else follows. That’s what Villa lacked on occasion last season, the whole team did not press as a unit. At times, Watkins will be the player starting off but left to do it by himself.
Dean Smith will have certainly identified that weakness, hence the swift capture of one of the best defensive attacking midfielders in the country. Buendia averaged an astonishing 2.5 tackles per90 minutes, considerably more than any of Aston Villa’s attackers.
He also recorded 186 interceptions, much of them coming in the attacking half. He is a real warrior out of possession, like a kid fighting to retrieve its toy. As soon as the team loses it high-up the pitch, Buendia will be the first to try and win it back. It’s an underappreciated trait in his game, but one many will seldom enjoy once he puts on that Villa shirt next season.
Aston Villa will be extremely excited about the prospect of watching both Emiliano Buendia and Jack Grealish in the same team. Though, its a conundrum Dean Smith will have to work out if he is to get the best of his attacking weapons. Ollie Watkins will be incredibly joyous at the sight of Buendia behind him, and is almost guaranteed to get as many goals as he has done this past year.
Villa do view Buendia as their number 10 in their customary 4-2-3-1, but that does not mean there won’t be any flexibility within their attacking play. Bertrand Traore, Jack Grealish and Buendia will be constantly interchanging positions, providing a supreme mixture of pace, power, creativity and vision when creating chances, and they will create bags of them, that’s a guarantee.
With Villa’s squad already stacked up with options in the wide areas in Bertrand Traore, Jack Grealish, Trezeguet and Anwar El Ghazi, there does appear to be an opportunity for Buendia to seamlessly slot in and fill those areas as shown above. Buendia is incredible in those areas, which means Villa be creating a hatful of chances each game.
Though, it is worth bearing in mind that Buendia has barely featured in such a role for Daniel Farke during his three years at Carrow Road. Rather his strength with Norwich lied on the right-hand-side in Farke’s 4-2-3-1, with Max Aarons athleticism and incredible knack of roaming up and down that right flank allowing Buendia the freedom and opportunity create havoc in the half-spaces, creating opportunities, linking up with Pukki as well as forming chances of his own.
His chance creation map above shows that he wasn’t your average right-winger, he did not hug the touchline and cross from the wide areas but instead fulfilled the role of a wide attacking player given the freedom to roam inside and operate centrally. It emphasis how diverse his creation of chances is with much of them coming in the central areas after driving in front of the right-hand side.
The Argentinian took his game to a whole new level last season, improving his goal-scoring return with a career high 14 non-penalty goals in the league going a long way to him earning the Championship player of the season gong – a year after Ollie Watkins won it himself. Five of those goals came from outside the penalty area, and that’s a feature Villa will strongly welcome. But it will be the scoring chances that Buendia forms that will be what Dean Smith will be relying on massively, especially if Jack Grealish is absent.
Buendia plays many dangerous passes, his expected assist per 90 minutes (0.36) truly shows his propensity to create chances out of nothing.
Dean Smith will be expecting that ability, coupled with other talents around him, to indeed provide Aston Villa with a more well-rounded, devastating and potent mix. There is so much for Villa fans to be optimistic about next season, and the charismatic presence of Emiliano Buendia only heightens that profound and lofty optimism and hope around Villa Park.
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