Aston Villa’s progression took a turning point when Unai Emery was appointed in October 2022, with the Spaniard unearthing a bolstered trajectory for his squad to follow.
At the point of his arrival, Steven Gerrard had failed to develop his side at Villa Park, leaving the squad in 16th place for Emery to inherit a tough project with reference to the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign.
It was a challenge that the former Arsenal boss accepted with open arms, leading the Villans to a 7th-place finish and a Europa Conference League spot for the 2023/24 season.
There is still a long way to go for the four-time Europa League winner, however, the future looks bright as he orchestrated a successful summer of business by welcoming five new faces of impressive calibre to the Midlands.
While one new face, in particular, has started well, with £51.9m capture Moussa Diaby already contributing to five goals in eight Premier League appearances, it’s still early days into the Frenchman’s career before his hefty price tag can be answered for.
Villa know all too well the repercussions of having high hopes for a new signing at first for them to not perform as expected, most notably with Philippe Coutinho arriving as a magician and leaving miserably to go on loan in Qatar this summer.
The Brazilian isn’t the first, and certainly won't be the last player to fail to prevail such high hopes at the point of signing, with another name currently on the payroll at Villa that has arguably not lived up to expectation.
When did Aston Villa sign Emiliano Buendia?
Signed in the summer of 2021 from Norwich City, Dean Smith secured a blockbuster signing in the form of Championship sensation Emiliano Buendia.
The Argentine arrived after a prolonged period of speculation over his future, with Arsenal also reported to have been admirers of the versatile attacker’s services.
The level of demand for Buendia that summer was unsurprising, as the former Real Madrid academy starlet had just inspired the Canaries to promotion to the top-flight, ending the campaign top of the league table and assists table.
In the 2020/21 season, the Argentine picked up a host of accolades including the Championship Player of the Season and Norwich City’s Player of the Season for his contributions to the Canaries’ promotion.
In 39 Championship appearances that term, the attacking midfielder secured 32 direct goal contributions, scoring 15 and assisting 17 to hold himself accountable for a huge chunk of his side’s success.
How much have Aston Villa spent on Emiliano Buendia?
For his dominating individual campaign in 2020/21, a club-record-breaking fee seemed feasible to obtain his signature, as Villa handed Norwich £38m for the 24-year-old dynamo.
Signed on a five-year deal, the midfielder was rewarded heavily for his brilliance in his final Championship season, highlighted by the lucrative contract he was handed by the Villans in comparison to the value of his salary with the Canaries.
After leaving Getafe, Buendia was earning £8k-per-week when he first signed for Norwich, which rose to £25k-per-week in his final season with the club.
At Villa, Buendia was handed a weekly wage of £75k-per-week, amounting to £3.9m-per-year to showcase his progression on the pitch through his rise in salary value over the years of his career in England.
Just over two years since his arrival, the Argentine has collected almost £8m in wages, added to the £38m fee that Villa spent to secure his signature, amounting to the total cost the Midlands club have spent on him so far being £46m, excluding the fortunes he’s earned so far this term.
The then 24-year-old arrived at Villa Park among the club’s top-ten earners, signifying just how highly he was valued with reference to the impact he could have in the first team.
What was the reaction when Aston Villa signed Emiliano Buendia?
As expected, there was a lot of excitement at the point of Buendia’s arrival, with a host of big names in the media with a tie to Villa declaring their joy in Smith’s capture of the playmaker.
Stan Collymore took to Twitter X to explain how pivotal the signing could be with reference to Jack Grealish, saying that his “creative influence” could remove the pressure on the Englishman to be the prominent spark in the midfield.
Things didn’t work as hoped for Collymore and many others, as Grealish signed for Manchester City before the window closed that summer, however pundit Noel Whelan told Football Insider that the £38m man could be “as important as Grealish”.
When speaking to Football Insider in October 2021, Buendia had already featured for the Villans, with Whelan describing his gameplay as bringing a threat in a manner that was “exactly how Grealish did” when he was at Villa.
The comments regarding his early days suggested that the Argentine could be the ideal figure to bridge the gap left by the £100m academy graduate, however the reality of his time at Villa has been far from as remarkable as first anticipated.
Has Emiliano Buendia lived up to expectation?
Whelan was one of many who was encouraged by Villa’s capture of Buendia, but also like many, the pundit has since voiced his frustrations with reference to the 26-year-old’s lack of progression.
Speaking to Football Insider in 2022, the former Leeds United striker admitted that the creative midfielder has “not really hit the heights” that were initially expected, adding that he was “supposed to be the Grealish replacement”.
Whelan added that the £75k-per-week star had “not been consistent enough”, which was a fair call of judgement when reflecting on Buendia’s form since arriving in the Midlands.
In a total of 78 appearances for Villa, the former Championship sensation has scored on just nine occasions, as well as recording only nine assists, amounting to 18 goal contributions in 78.
To put into perspective, Buendia scored 15 goals alone in 39 appearances for Norwich in his final season, highlighting a severe decline in his contribution in the final third, with a drop in performance level also traceable in his all-round game play.
From August 2022 to January 2023, the former Getafe ace failed to score or assist a single goal in the Premier League, as pressure built for him to raise his level of performance in the Midlands.
As highlighted in the table below via FBref, the Argentine went from performing in the form of his life in the second tier, to struggling to find his feet at such levels in the Premier League, leaving a sour taste in Villa’s mouth over what could have been.
Emiliano Buendia stats per 90 comparison
Season:
2020/21 Championship
2022/23 Premier League
Non-penalty goals
0.38
0.19
Progressive passes
7.82
5.15
Progressive carries
2.66
2.24
Key passes
3.31
1.53
Via FBref.
While there is a feeling that Buendia should be producing more, there is still a lot of time for the 26-year-old to fully exert his ability at Villa Park, with glimpses of just how special he can be on his day.
The 2023/24 campaign started as a nightmare for the midfielder, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture during pre-season, leaving him sidelined for at least the first half of the term.
Everyone associated with Villa will be hoping that the £38m man can hit his full potential once more, especially after starting life so inconsistently with pressure added by his inability to play following his injury.