The remarkable resurgence of Emi Buendía from Argentina

In November 2018, Alan Hutton scored an outrageous solo goal for Aston Villa in a 4-2 derby win against Birmingham City. He finished it off with his left foot just to rub salt into the wound.

Villa had all but given up on Hutton six years earlier. The former Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur right-back was loaned out to Nottingham Forest, Mallorca and Bolton Wanderers between 2012 and 2014, and was perhaps the most prominent member of Paul Lambert’s bomb squad.

Emi Buendía hasn’t endured the same shabby treatment but the regard in which Hutton is held by Villa supporters after eventually retiring in 2020 without ever joining another club on a permanent basis is proof positive that football is a weird and wonderful world.

When Buendía joined Villa in 2021, he arrived as one of the most highly regarded second-tier players of the modern era. He had the Championship so effortlessly under his spell that Villa and Arsenal battled for his signature and Villa ended up paying Norwich City, by then in the Premier League too, a reported fee starting at £33 million.

‘No room left’

Buendía was Villa’s club record signing at the time. He started 49 league games in his first two seasons at the club but gradually drifted out of the picture as Villa progressed at a noticeably faster rate than he did.

Tactics played a part. Buendía’s style and physique did too. By the time he blew out a knee at the very beginning of the 2023/24 season, Villa had the depth to handle it. By the time he came back, there was no room left.

It’s widely known that Villa have been open to selling the 28-year-old attacking midfielder for the last several transfer windows. When he was loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen in January, the contract extension that went with it felt for all the world like an exercise in value protection, not player retention.

Buendía, we thought, was being managed respectfully to the door.

‘Tenacity and professionalism’

There’s no bomb squad at Villa now but there is a need to make profit in the transfer market by selling the players who aren’t playing.

Being a stubborn little so-and-so, Buendía reportedly dug his heels in and declined a move to Leeds United in the summer transfer window. He’s always looked good in friendlies – he is in many ways the ultimate pre-season footballer – but there lingered a sense that he’d be shuffled back into the shadows once the middle of August rolled around.

Instead, Buendía’s tenacity and professionalism have become manifest in an astonishing turnaround in his individual fortunes.

His proximity to the team was almost regarded as a symptom of Villa’s early-season struggles in 2025/26. He turned out to be part of the cure, swiftly playing himself into a starting role and doing the thing he was signed to do all those years ago: Buendía is having a direct and crucial impact on football matches.

‘Supporters are fully behind him’

Villa’s forgotten man was the catalyst of their first Premier League win of the season at home against Fulham. While the introduction of Pau Torres in place of the injured Tyrone Mings after half an hour helped to tighten up the team’s shape, Buendía came on at half time to make sure they profited from it.

Credited with an assist and a goal within ten minutes, Buendía was understandably lauded for his productivity. But it’s his graft and determination, a loose ball collected here and an ankle clipped there, that have dragged him back up the pecking order.

It really is quite an achievement and it culminated in Thursday night’s tremendous away win against Feyenoord in the Europa League, Villa’s third victory in a row after six matches without one to start the season.

On the site of Villa’s greatest triumph, Buendía was the difference. Receiving the ball on the edge of the penalty area, he rolled it quickly out of his feet and curled in the gorgeous opening goal.

Marco Bizot was responsible for the clean sheet at the other end. Once again, Buendía was on hand to make sure Villa reaped the benefits.

This was the kind of week Buendía must have thought would never happen for him at Villa and I’m thrilled.

What’s not to love about a player who wants to be at the club, who’s willing to fight for a place even when there isn’t one up for grabs, who works his socks off on the pitch and shows up with moments of genuine quality when it matters?

“Always it was my preference to stay here because I really feel this club is my home,” he said last week. “I feel myself close with everyone at the club and the fans because I think I can help this club to be even better in the future.”

Buendía is on the upward swing of an incredible story. The Villa supporters are fully behind him. Unai Emery trusts him and he is repaying that faith.

The only real question that’s left is how high this rekindled tale can go.

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