Alan Hutton: Emi Buendia must produce more for Aston Villa
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton believes Emiliano Buendia must start producing on a more regular basis for Aston Villa after being promised more game time by Steven Gerrard.
The 25-year-old has been a bit-part player for Villa this season, with the Argentinian featuring mainly as a substitute with starts seemingly hard-to-come-by.
Hutton feels Buendia must contribute to the Villans’ goalscoring woes before he is given a run in Gerrard’s first eleven.
“He has to produce, listening to Steven Gerrard after the Nottingham Forest game, he name-checked Buendia suggesting he needs more,” Hutton exclusively told Villa News.
“Defensively I think they’ve been sound this season but it’s about having that balance between defence and attack. You need certain players to give more and create more chances.
“They need to score more goals and even in midfield, there hasn’t been enough. Seven goals in nine games is not enough and if you want to be looking towards the top end of the table you have to do more.
“Yes we know he’s got quality and we know what he’s capable of but we need to see it consistently for Villa to climb up the table.”
Gerrard revealed (Birmingham Mail, 9 October) the attacking midfielder would be given more chances to impress and the 25-year played the whole game in Villa’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
The former Norwich man has averaged 42 minutes per 90 so far in the 2022/23 season and will be looking to hit some goalscoring form in the coming weeks.
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