Noel Whelan says Emi Buendia is ‘most likely to leave’

Emiliano Buendia had a mixed debut campaign at Aston Villa, falling well short of expectations after his club-record transfer from Norwich City. The 25-year-old scored 15 goals with 17 assists from 39 Championship games for Norwich last season, but he’s been inconsistent in the Premier League and may have an uncertain future.

Buendia has scored a meagre four goals with six assists from 35 Premier League games, but he’s shown glimpses of real quality that remind supporters why Villa signed him – 48 chances and 40 successful dribbles. Noel Whelan doesn’t believe the Argentinean international is worth keeping, however.

He told Football Insider: “All of those Villa midfielders will want to be starting every game. That’s just not possible if they (sign another player). When you look at Buendia, he’s probably the most likely to leave the club and is probably the one who could raise the most money at the moment.”

Buendia can operate on either flank and as a central playmaker, so his versatility is useful to Steven Gerrard. He spent the second half of the season on the bench, however, so his manager did lose trust in him.

The 25-year-old hasn’t replicated his Norwich form and has now struggled in the second top-flight campaign of his career (1 goal and 7 assists from 36 PL games in 2019/20) , but he’s young enough to improve.

Villa paid £35m for Buendia but may struggle to make back that money as his stock will have fallen, so Whelan’s prediction might not hold up. Buendia could be given another season to prove his worth.

In other news, Noel Whelan says Aston Villa should sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain