Emiliano Buendía (pictured) gives Xabi Alonso another string to his bow in the Bayer Leverkusen final third. - © Getty Images

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Emiliano Buendía: Who is the Aston Villa midfielder on loan at Bayer Leverkusen?

30.01.2025

Emiliano Buendía brings a wealth of English Premier League experience with him to Bayer Leverkusen. bundesliga.com has the lowdown on the Aston Villa loanee, who'll spend the rest of 2024/25 at the BayArena...

Stats correct as of 29 January 2025

Emiliano Buendía

Age: 28 (born 25 December 1996)
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Position: Attacking midfielder
Country: Argentina (one cap)

Key stats

Buendía rose to prominence during his time in England with Norwich City and, most recently, parent club Aston Villa. Before reaching the bright lights of the Premier League, though, the former Cadetes de San Martín youngster enjoyed a 10-year spell in Spain, beginning with two years in the Real Madrid academy.

The diminutive midfielder switched to Getafe in 2014, making his senior debut within a year and going on to earn 40 first-team appearances. He also enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Cultural Leonesa in 2017/18, totalling 19 goals and assists in 42 second-tier games.

Buendía (l.) came up against big hitters like Andrés Iniesta (r.) whilst at Getafe. - imago sportfotodienst

His performances in Spain duly caught the eye of Premier League hopefuls Norwich, who signed Buendía ahead of the 2018/19 season. Eight goals and 12 assists helped the Canaries climb into the Premier League, where the Argentinian made 36 appearances before the club's immediate return to the second tier. Norwich won promotion again in 2020/21, ably assisted by Championship Player of the Season Buendía. A move to Villa followed, along with 10 goals and nine assists in 97 appearances, including four in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.

Plays a bit like: Philippe Coutinho

With a slight frame and flair for the spectacular, there are plenty of similarities between Buendía and Philippe Countinho, who spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Bayern Munich. Like the Brazilian, Bayer's new man is capable of creating something out of nothing from the middle of the park and doesn't need an invitation to strike for goal from range. Despite being comfortable all over the pitch, the Argentine playmaker is also reminiscent of an old-fashioned No.10 with his ability to receive the ball on the half-turn before wreaking havoc in the opposition third.

Did you know?

Buendía teamed up with current Augsburg left-back Dimitrios Giannoulis, as well as former Schalke striker Teemu Pukki during Norwich's 2018/19 Championship-winning season.

Buendía's move to Aston Villa followed an English Championship-winning season with Norwich City in 2020/21. - Paul Chesterton via www.imago-images.de

What they’re saying

"Buendía is a good, technical footballer, who is full of passion and commitment. He's proven himself in the rigours of the Premier League with over 100 appearances and brings of wealth of experience to help us achieve our goals." - Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes

“He’s a technical player, full of creativity and he has lots of potential.” - former Norwich manager Daniel Farke

"Emiliano is equally capable as a wide attacker or as a number 10 and is a great addition to our attacking options." - former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith