Why Buendia capture can turn Aston Villa into European contenders

Emiliano Buendia was a deserving winner of the 2020/21 WhoScored.com Championship player of the season award. The Argentine played a starring role in Norwich's title success as he reached double figures for both goals (15) and assists (16) last season, one of only two players to achieve the feat, and the latter more than any other player. 

The Canaries managed to ward of interest from Arsenal for the 24-year-old in January, with a £40m asking price enough for the Gunners to pursue a loan move for Martin Odegaard instead. The hope for Arsenal was that they'd return for Buendia this summer now that Odegaard has returned to Real Madrid as the Norwich star would likely be available for cheaper. 

However, the north London side look to have missed out on Buendia, with a move for Aston Villa reportedly close to completion. It's a huge sign of intent for Villa, who need to spend this summer in order to convince Jack Grealish that his future is best served at Villa Park. 

Buendia is just the signing required in order to retain the services of Grealish. The England international has been linked with a move to Manchester City, though Villa are supposedly holding out for bids in excess of £100m for their talisman. Despite missing 12 games through injury, Grealish still ranked third for total key passes (81) in the Premier League last season and given Villa's win ratio rises from 21.4% to 54.2% when he starts, you can appreciate the need to retain his services. 

There is the idea that Buendia is being signed to replace Grealish, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The pair play in different positions - Buendia on the right and Grealish on the left - which reinforces the notion that Dean Smith is acquiring the former to play alongside the latter. Considering Ollie Watkins' start to life in a Villa shirt, it's an attack that has the potential to dovetail nicely. 

Furthermore, considering Buendia's impressive attacking stats in the Championship last season, it eases the pressure on Grealish to shoulder the creative burden for Smith's side when available and would undoubtedly aid the Villans when he is absent. 20% of the total chances Villa created last season were by Grealish, so another player to aid the England international is a welcome boost. 

Buendia created at least 36 more goalscoring chances (122) than any other player in England's second tier last term and was top for clear-cut chances created (18) in the division. On top of that, only Kevin De Bruyne (18) has made more accurate through balls than Buendia (12) since the start of the 2019/20 Premier League. For the uninitiated, Buendia played 2020/21 in the Championship... 

The impending arrival of Buendia also lessens the need to sign a number 10. He essentially plays that role off the right wing, so Smith would be able to play a 4-3-3 more frequently than the 4-2-3-1 he used 27 times in the Premier League last season. In John McGinn, Marvelous Nakamba, Douglas Luiz, Morgan Sanson and Jacob Ramsey, coupled with rumoured interest in James Ward-Prowse, Smith isn't short of central midfield options and the use of a system would allow Buendia, Grealish and Watkins the opportunity to really hurt opponents in the final third, safe in the knowledge the Villa goal is protected by those behind them. 

Yet even if Buendia is not needed to carry out his defensive duties with great regularity, he is more than willing to get stuck in for the good the team having ranked sixth for tackles (93) in the Championship last season. This impressive work rate has won him a legion of admirers and is another weapon in his arsenal that will endear him to Villa fans as the Midlands outfit seeks to build upon their respectable 11th-placed finish. 

Premier League fans are already well versed in Buendia's quality following his fine outings in the 2019/20 campaign and a main talking point has been why no team elected to take a gamble on the former Getafe man 12 months ago following Norwich's relegation. Yet the Canaries successfully rebuffed any interest in their prized asset and having played a central role in their Premier League return, Norwich are now reluctantly willing to allow Buendia to move on. 

Their loss is very much Villa's gain with Smith set to be able to call upon two of the most creative stars in the country for 2021/22. It's a prospect that has Villa fans rightly buzzing for the upcoming campaign and having finished just seven points behind Tottenham, whose seventh-placed finish was enough to secure a Europa Conference League spot, a European finish should now be the aim for Villa.