Anthony Onifade

Mon 24 July 2023 10:10, UK

Aston Villa confirmed the signing of winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen and Villa Park playmaker Emiliano Buendia could now see his influence considerably soar next season.

As confirmed by the official Aston Villa website (22 July), Diaby has joined for an undisclosed fee, and has already linked up with his new teammates on their pre-season tour of the USA.

Diaby, who scored 14 goals and registered 11 assists across all competitions last season was said to costs as much as £88m last summer [Sky Sports News, 22 July] but Aston Villa are said to have completed the deal for considerably less than that fee.

The France international becomes Aston Villa’s third summer signing following the additions of Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres as Unai Emery looks to bolster his squad with piercing quality with a European adventure in the Europa Conference League on the horizon.

Having come up through the ranks at hometown club Paris St Germain, Diaby moved to Leverkusen in 2019. He scored 49 goals in 172 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

And Diaby has rapidly emerged over the past couple of years as one of Europe’s most devastating, influential and decisive attacking commodities marking him out as a marquee acquisition for the West Midlands outfit who desperately needed an attacking signing through the door this summer.

The 24-year-old had a particularly good Bundesliga campaign, with the attacker top scoring for his club with nine goals, as per the official Bundesliga website.

Moreover, his eight assists were level with the likes of Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller and new Liverpool man Dominik Szoboszlai, who shone for RB Leipzig.

And Villa fans can certainly be excited about how their new-look attack will fare next season, but none more so than Buendia who out of most at Villa Park, has required an added attacking sprinkle dust in order to return to tip-top form again.

The Argentinian scored five league goals and provided two assists as he featured in various positions across Villa’s midfield and forward line – which certainly represents a stellar campaign in Villans colours but on numerous occasions towards the end of last season, Buendia was guilty of some inconsistencies.

As per stats provided by FBREF, Buendia only completed 1.01 take-ons per 90 during the Premier League which puts him in just the 23rd percentile of midfielders in the league.

As well as this, he made just 2.24 progressive carries per 90 in the league, putting him in the 28th percentile for midfielders.

Despite his seven-goal involvements in the Premier League, a deeper dive into the stats reveals that the Villa number ten could be doing more and with Diaby’s speed on the counter and attacking influence, Buendia could now see his own contributions and consistencies soar to new heights next season.

In terms of his final third influence this season, the 26-year-old playmaker has grabbed all the headlines and the stats have proved as much. Buendia ranked third in the Villa team for key passes (41), second for shot-creating actions (90), and fourth for goal-creating actions (10), as per FBRef last season, showcasing his tremendous exploits when trying to create chances for his teammates.

He also ranks in the 93rd percentile of forwards in Europe’s top-five leagues for through balls per 90 [FBRef], and in fact provided considerably more of those than any of his Villa teammates [WhoScored], proving just how crucial he is and will continue to be in the final third.

With Emery looking to transcend into a more controlled, proactive and attacking style at Villa Park, Buendia’s burgeoning and unique qualities in creating chances will be incredibly useful and the Argentinian maestro laying key passes for the likes of Diaby, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins could well become a welcome sight for the Villa Park faithful.

Aston Villa have considerably bolstered the squad ahead of the new campaign, and the Villans could well be expected to add some more before the season opener against Newcastle on 12 August, but with more quality comes more expectations and demands and no player will receive more of those than Buendia who will without doubt, be the creative linchpin that the club desperately need next season.

In other Aston Villa news, one pundit has predicted a Villa star to speak to his agent every day about quitting Villa Park.