Earlier this summer, Emiliano Buendía was confirmed as Aston Villa’s first new signing ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League season and he arrives after three impressive years in English football.
The 24-year-old - who will celebrate his next birthday on Christmas Day – was key for Norwich City as they won promotion twice in the last three years, either side of Buendía’s impressive debut top-flight campaign in 2019/20.
Take a look at some of the numbers that made Buendía an ideal signing for Dean Smith...
Creativity
In terms of chance creation, Buendía absolutely dominated the second tier last season.
He created 122 chances for his team-mates in total, at least 37 more than any other player in the division, with 16 of those converted to ensure he topped the Championship’s assists charts for 2020/21.
Buendía’s numbers were just as impressive in the Premier League one season previously, when he created the fourth-most chances in the league (83) and recorded seven assists for a side that ended up finishing bottom of the table.
That year, the Argentinian continued his form from his first season in English football, when he created 91 chances (third-most) and recorded 12 assists (joint second-most).
End Product
Along with his impressive assist totals, Buendía raised his game in front of goal last season, scoring 15 times in the Championship.
It was the best goalscoring season of his career so far and he was one of only two players in the division – along with Ivan Toney - to register the double-double of 10+ goals and 10+ assists.
With 31 goal contributions in total last term, he bettered his record from the 2018/19 Championship season, when he was directly involved in 20 goals with eight strikes and 12 assists.
In total, Buendía has contributed to 59 goals in 102 starts in English football.
Ball Carrying
Like his new team-mate Jack Grealish, one of Buendía’s stand-out attributes is his ability to carry the ball with speed, past opponents and into dangerous areas of the pitch.
He completed 63 successful dribbles in the Championship last season, which improved on his tally of 55 from his debut campaign in the second tier two years previously.
As impressive as those figures are, what will really excite Villa fans are his numbers from the 2019/20 season.
Buendía completed 102 successful dribbles in the Premier League, with only four players recording more (Adama Traoré, Wilfried Zaha and Allan Saint-Maximin).
Tackling
For supporters who haven’t seen too much of him, one element of Buendía’s game that might spring a surprise in claret and blue is his defensive work-rate.
He won 82 tackles during his sole campaign in the Premier League and he was the only player that season to pass 60 for tackles won, successful dribbles (102) and chances created (83).
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For Norwich in the Championship last season, Buendía ranked second for tackles won (93), fourth for interceptions (41) and fifth for clearances (52).
Unbelievably for an attack-minded player, he won 101 tackles during his first league campaign for the Canaries and he will add another dynamic presence to Villa’s forward line alongside the relentless Ollie Watkins.
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