Aston Villa star snubbed shock Birmingham transfer pursuit in summer, future deal on the cards
Birmingham City made contact with Aston Villa in the summer window.
Villa and Birmingham are fierce rivals, with transfers between the two being a rarity at Villa Park over the years.
This has recently seen Jota join Villa in two busy windows in the 2019/20 season across the summer and January transfer markets.
As the Spaniard came in, Gary Gardner left to join Birmingham, following in his brother’s footsteps to cross the second city divide, all before Scott Hogan became the latest player to do so.
With that being said, Unai Emery almost witnessed another move from claret and blue to royal blue in what was a difficult window for Villa due to UEFA sanctions.
Birmingham City tried to sign Emi Buendia
As struggles became apparent in B6, the need to sell fringe players and get their wages off the books became apparent.
This saw Villa cancel the contract of Philippe Coutinho, while Leander Dendoncker, Kortney Hause, Alex Moreno and Robin Olsen also departed on free transfers.
There were also a number of familiar faces linked with moves away, with Jacob Ramsey joining Newcastle United being the main example.
Another name who was strongly linked with an exit was Buendia after returning from a six-month loan spell with Bayer Leverkusen last campaign.
Now, Tom Collomosse has reported via the Daily Mail on 12 September that Birmingham City wanted to sign Buendia in the summer window.
The Argentine was considered by Chris Davies’ side as a potential signing before the attacking midfielder opted to remain at Villa Park.
With the 28-year-old out of contract in two years, a move away from B6 is likely next summer, with a switch to St Andrew’s potentially on the cards.
Aston Villa right to keep Emi Buendia
It had looked as if the ex-Norwich City man’s future in claret and blue was done, moving into the current campaign.
That no longer looks to be the case after Buendia came on against Crystal Palace and showed exactly how good he can be for Emery’s side this season.
| Stat vs Crystal Palace | Emi Buendia |
| Minutes played | 45 |
| Shots | 1 |
| Chances created | 3 |
| Defensive contributions | 7 |
| Duels won | 6 |
The diminutive number 10 was a shining light against the Eagles, with his impact likely to be felt in games moving forward for many matches to come.
This is likely to represent a dagger blow to Birmingham and their hopes of signing the Argentine, which is something that the Villa Park faithful won’t mind.
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