Aston Villa’s summer transfer window may not have been the meteoric affair of 2019, but they still spent a hefty amount of cash.
Ollie Watkins arrived for a fee of £28m while Matty Cash also walked through the door. However, it’s been a player they signed on a mere loan deal that’s arguably been the most impressive.
We’re talking about Ross Barkley, a man who has established a tremendous partnership with Jack Grealish. The Chelsea loanee has contributed to three goals in just six Premier League games and is very quickly proving himself to be a creative gem once more.
However, in landing the Englishman, Johan Lange turned down the opportunity of trying to sign Norwich wizard Emiliano Buendia.
The Argentine scored just once in the Premier League last season but has earned talk of a move to the likes of Villa (print version of The Sun, 8/9/20), Leeds and Arsenal.
His form in the Championship dictates how good he can be, finding the back of the net on seven occasions and registering six assists.
Yet, he saved one of his best displays of the season for Barnsley last weekend. Buendia was the game’s only goal scorer as he demonstrated outstanding qualities, ones that typify the “revelation” tag he was given by Chris Sutton.
Against the Tykes, he was absolutely mesmeric, performing as many as six dribbles and producing three key passes. Judging by that performance it was somewhat surprising that the Canaries only managed to score once.
Buendia was everywhere, winning 12 duels and producing 86 touches, drifting inside from the left-hand channel on a regular basis. It’s that type of style that makes him so dangerous, picking up little pockets of space between midfield and attack.
In some senses, he does what Grealish does but from the opposite flank. Just imagine what the pair of them could do in the same team - it really is a frightening prospect.
This display only demonstrated why Villa have to try and sign Buendia this month – he is a creative genius and would undoubtedly improve Dean Smith’s side.