Aston Villa latest news: Record-breaker is still 'struggling to adapt' to life at Villa Park | OneFootball

Emiliano Buendia has struggled to adapt to being at a big club like Aston Villa, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

Buendia joined Villa from Norwich City in the summer for a club-record fee, with some reports suggesting that the Midlands outfit could end up paying up to £40m in total for the Argentinian attacker.

How has Emiliano Buendia performed so far for Aston Villa?

Given how much he arrived for, much was expected of Buendia at the start of the season, especially after the departure of Jack Grealish.

However, he has struggled, with former manager Dean Smith having failed to find a settled position for him.

The 24-year-old has already played in four different positions across 10 league games - one under new boss Steven Gerrard - scoring just the one goal.

Going forward, finding a fixed role in the team for Buendia is something Gerrard may have to do if he is to get the best out of the right winger.

What has Luke Hatfield said about Emiliano Buendia?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Hatfield is adamant that Buendia's best position is out on that right flank, where he was mostly deployed during his Norwich days.

Having just joined Villa, naturally, the Express & Star journalist also feels Buendia needs to adapt.

On the summer signing, he told GMS: "Buendia's someone who clearly favours being on that right flank and has maybe struggled to adapt with being at such a big club in Villa, particularly in a midfield role."

What will Steven Gerrard do with Emiliano Buendia?

It will be very interesting to see what Gerrard's plans for Buendia are. In that 2-0 win against Brighton over the weekend, he did start in that position on the right flank.

If the former Rangers boss sticks with a 4-3-3 rather than use a back five as Smith did at times like in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, then the room obviously is there for him to play in what seems to be his favourite position.

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As for Villa's attack as a whole, you would expect competition for places in Gerrard's starting XI to be fierce. The Premier League outfit have a lot of attacking options after that recruitment drive in the summer.

As well as Buendia, Gerrard will have the likes of Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey to call upon when selecting his No.9 and wide players if he continues with the 4-3-3 formation fans saw in that much-needed win against Brighton.

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