How Emi Buendia is feeling about his future in January after Leeds United tried to sign him in the summer

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Angus Kinnear confirmed back in September that Leeds United asked the question to Aston Villa in the summer over Emi Buendia’s availability.

Buendia enjoyed arguably the best form of his career under Daniel Farke at Norwich City and the Leeds boss was keen to reunite at Elland Road in his search for a number 10.

The 27-year-old produced one of the best individual campaigns ever seen in the Championship back in 2020/21, scoring 15 goals and providing 16 assists as Norwich romped to the title.

That form earned him a move to Aston Villa in the summer of 2021 but his time at the club hasn’t exactly gone as planned, missing the entirety of last season due to an ACL injury.

Given Villa’s rise to Champions League football in the time he was out, Leeds tried a cheeky attempt to sign Buendia in the summer, but both club and player said no.

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Buendia’s stance on January move after past Leeds interest

After Buendia’ understandable decision to turn down a move to the Championship in favour of staying at a Champions League side, game time at Villa has been hard to come by.

His only two starts all season have come in the Carabao Cup, with his minutes in Europe and the Premier League totalling just 67.

Unfortunately for Buendia, his injury has seen him fall significantly down the pecking order for a place in the number 10 spot, with Morgan Rogers and John McGinn among those ahead of him.

With that in mind, a new report from the Athletic has suggested Buendia has now arrived at a ‘crossroads’ in his career at Villa, leaving him a decision to make in January.

However, while Buendia acknowledges his situation at Villa is currently ‘unsustainable’, a January exit looks unlikely at this stage.

The report did also mention Leeds‘ interest in the summer, but did not confirm either way whether they could return in January after his recent struggles.

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Buendia would be final piece of Leeds’ jigsaw

Aside from a few below-par performances in recent weeks, Brenden Aaronson has enjoyed a good season at Leeds with five goals and an assist.

However, Leeds cannot just rely on one man for one position in a 46-game campaign and so signing a new number 10 in January should be a priority.

As shown by his previous performances at this level, there wouldn’t be a better man to bring in than Buendia, if Farke can convince him to drop down a level, at least just for a few months.

Buendia will obviously take some time to get up to match sharpness, but that would be the beauty of having both him and Aaronson for that spot. He could be the signing that gets Leeds over the line.