Paul Merson makes Emi Buendia point as ‘unbelievable’ developments mooted away from Aston Villa
Emi Buendia could be set for a World Cup berth after his sensational form for Aston Villa so far this season.
Buendia has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in his Aston Villa fortunes, after struggling to force his way into Unai Emery‘s plans last season.
Aston Villa were linked with an exit for Buendia throughout the summer, but he remained and is now a key player for the high-flying Villans, scoring a crucial last-gasp winner against Arsenal last time out.
Paul Merson believes that he may well be in line for a call-up to the Argentina squad, if he can do one thing at Villa Park.
What did Merson say about Buendia?
Merson thinks that Buendia should earn a place in the national team for the World Cup, if he continues in this vein of form at club level.
The Villa ace was called up for the friendly with Angola in November, but that was his first squad since his debut in February 2022, so a call-up could be consider unlikely.
In his weekly predictions article for Sportskeeda, he said: “Emiliano Buendia is now fulfilling the potential he first showed at Norwich City.
“It was a tough start for him at Villa, but he has gotten better and better. If he keeps playing like this, he won’t be far from the plane that takes the Argentina squad to the 2026 World Cup.
“All the other teams should be worried if Buendia fails to make the Argentina squad after keeping up his form because that would mean the reigning world champions have such an unbelievable squad!”
Merson is spot on with Buendia claim, here’s why
Merson is absolutely on the mark with his claims, Buendia will absolutely deserve a spot in Lionel Scaloni’s squad for the tournament in the United States if he can maintain his current level.
Buendia ranks joint-top for goals scored among Villa players in the top-flight with over 50 per cent of possible appearances, and he is fourth when it comes to assists, with two, per Sofascore.
He takes the joint-second most shots per 90 minutes in the league for the Villans, level with Donyell Malen on 1.5.
The Argentine ranks third in the squad for minutes per goal with one every 137 minutes, with only Malen (130) and Ross Barkley (128) ahead of him in that metric.
If he keeps up that form, there will surely be no way that he can be ignored when the time comes for Scaloni to decide who he is taking on the plane.
It would be the latest story in a stunning comeback for the 28-year-old, but it will be no less than he deserves.
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