Max Wilkins

Sun 24 May 2026 11:45, UK

Swansea City had their chance to sign Emi Buendia before Aston Villa went on to win the Europa League.

The Argentina international has written himself into Villa Park folklore after a Man of the Match performance in the Europa League final.

His stunning goal made it 2-0 in Istanbul and sparked wild celebrations throughout the halftime interval, going on to beat Freiburg 3-0 in the end.

That marked the perfect arc to his story in claret and blue after looking for all the world as if his story was over before the season began.

Buendia is now an Aston Villa icon after lifting silverware, but things could have been so different if he had joined Swansea City.

Swansea City had chance to sign Emi Buendia

The story of the Argentine in B6 will go down in folklore after being key to Europa League glory, after previously being frozen out by Unai Emery.

He spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen as he wasn’t wanted by the Spaniard, but he has turned things around in style.

His goals and performances on the continent sent his side on their way to glory, and it has secured his status as a true hero in the Midlands.

That has made every penny of his £33million move from Norwich City worth it, but it has now been reported by Alan Nixon that he could have joined Swansea instead of the Canaries.

The journalist reported via Patreon on Sunday that the Swans could have signed the attacking midfielder from Getafe, but refused to pay a £200,000 loan fee.

The Spanish side were happy to do a deal, and the Argentine wanted to do a deal, but that fee on top of an eventual £4million permanent fee saw a deal waved away.

Buendia has since stunned for Villa against Freiburg and won the Europa League, leaving fans to question what could have been if he had moved to the Liberty Stadium.

Where would Aston Villa be without Emi Buendia?

If you had told any Villa fan at the start of this season that the number 10 would prove to be arguably the most important player in B6, no one would have believed you.

That is exactly how it has turned out with his 10-goal involvements en route to winning the Europa League in Istanbul.

Without him, there would have been some difficult days in the competition, with his goals against Freiburg and Nottingham Forest making all the difference for the B6 outfit.

His goal output and creativity were massive, and without that, lifting the trophy may not have been possible.

If he had joined Swansea nearly 10 years ago, things could have been very different, but Villa can thank their lucky stars that everything played out the way it did.