Aston Villa, Emi Buendia exit hint issued as Leeds United eye transfer | OneFootball

Previous Whites target Emi Buendia could be on his way out of Villa Park after Unai Emery's recent revelations

Leeds United will be on red-alert after Aston Villa boss Unai Emery dropped a major transfer hint that playmaker Emi Buendia could leave Villa Park this month, following previous rumours of the Whites' interest in his signature and Daniel Farke's potential desire to bring in a new number 10.

Leeds have been flying high in the Championship this season, and look on track to return to the Premier League so long as they keep up their form for the next few months and win key games against the teams around them in the table.

Buendia, meanwhile, has experienced a tough last 18 months in recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that saw him sit out for the whole of last season.

The Argentine international has been limited to just 17 appearances so far this term under Emery, with only three starts in cup games and none in the Premier League or the Champions League, and now could be set to depart the Second City in the January window to increase his playing-time.

Unai Emery, Emi Buendia suggestion will be of interest to Leeds

Buendia is obviously no stranger to the Championship, having previously played some of the best football of his life under Daniel Farke at Norwich City, yet his 2021 move to Aston Villa has never really worked out, and he has struggled to come back into contention this season with the emergence of the likes of Morgan Rogers, Jacob Ramsey and Ross Barkley.

The 28-year-old was a summer target for Leeds as he returned to full fitness in August, but a summer deal never materialised, and Whites CEO Angus Kinnear revealed in September that it was insinuated to him that the Argentine felt "he’d served his time at Championship level."

Former Villa scout Mick Brown revealed to Football Insider just last month that Leeds still hold an interest in signing Buendia, after failing to convince him of the move in the summer, and now Lions boss Emery's most recent comments over his future will have put them on red-alert to a potential move over the coming weeks.

"Always we are trying to improve the team. The players who are here with us, always we are supporting them. He had last year a long injury but he started this year progressively getting better," he told BirminghamLive in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

"He didn’t feel 100 per cent in the season until now. But now he is playing more minutes and helping the team. But maybe he can have the possibility to leave.

"For him, it could be something where he can play more, get more minutes, get confidence again and being comfortable playing again in the starting XI.

"Of course, now he is helping us and I am happy with his attitude. Of course, playing more minutes, he can feel better."

Leeds signing Buendia would surely clinch them promotion this season

A player like Emi Buendia is definitely one in the bracket of 'too good for the Championship' right now, yet if Leeds could tempt the Argentinian attacking midfielder to drop down a division and revitalise his seemingly stagnated career, then it would be a real coup and a huge boost to their chances of top-flight football next term.

His form at Norwich under Farke at times was nothing short of spectacular, and the role he played in the Canaries' promotions in both 2018/19 and 2020/21 cannot be hailed enough, particularly after he won the Championship Player of the Season award and was named in the PFA Team of the Year in the latter campaign.

Villa are sure to want to bolster their own squad for their Champions League exploits in the second-half of the campaign, and so the 27-year-old looks to have found himself surplus to requirements in the West Midlands, which is where the Whites could now step in and firmly reignite their interest with a loan approach in the coming weeks.

If Leeds are to register their interest in Buendia once again, then they are not set to be alone in pursuit of his services, after DSportsRadio revealed that Argentinian giants River Plate had asked about conditions of a possible deal for the playmaker to return to his native country this month.

A move to Elland Road could well appeal for different reasons than one back to Argentina though, with Buendia possibly unlikely to want to return to his home country just for six months to then be back at square one at Villa in the summer, while Leeds can also give him the opportunity to have yet another Championship promotion on his CV, with a starring role in store, to boot.

If he was to join the Whites, the Villa man would easily be one of the first names on the team-sheet ahead of fellow number 10 Brenden Aaronson, and if he finds that previous form, he could well be the deciding factor in making Farke's side return to the Premier League in May.