Aston Villa: Emi Buendia transfer stance on potential Leeds United move becomes clearer | OneFootball

Buendia is thought to be reluctant to take the step down to the Championship at this stage.

Aston Villa midfielder Emi Buendia is not keen on making the move down to the Championship at this stage, amid interest from Leeds United.

This is according to Alan Nixon, with this report potentially dealing the Whites a major blow in their quest to recruit the 28-year-old.

Buendia has played in the English second tier before, featuring for Norwich City during the 2018/19 and 2020/21 seasons, proving to be a key player for the Canaries in both of those campaigns.

Doing extremely well at Carrow Road, particularly in the latter season, he did enough to earn himself a move to Villa in the summer of 2022.

The Argentine playmaker played a decent amount of football during his first two seasons at Villa Park, but has spent a large chunk of this campaign on the bench.

This has increased speculation about his future, with Leeds one of the teams being linked with a move for the Argentine.

Leeds United set to struggle in Emi Buendia pursuit

Leeds may be able to fork out a lot more than other sides to get a deal over the line for the 28-year-old, considering they raised plenty of revenue from selling key players during the previous window.

That could give Daniel Farke, who is yet to make a signing during this window, the chance to recruit Buendia, who the Whites are keen to take on either a permanent or loan deal.

But they could struggle in their quest to sign the player, who isn't keen to take the step down to the second tier at this stage.

This is according to a Sunday morning report from Nixon, who believes the 28-year-old will wait to see if offers from top-flight teams emerge.

Villa seemingly put Buendia in the shop window this past week when starting him in a UEFA Champions League clash with AS Monaco for what was his first ever start in the competition, but he could not influence the game enough as his side slipped to a 1-0 defeat.

Emi Buendia could enjoy exciting Leeds United spell but move now looks unlikely

You can understand why Buendia may not be keen to take a step down to the second tier.

He has already mastered that level - and arguably deserves an opportunity to remain in the top flight.

The attacking midfielder may not have thrived this season, but he hasn't had many starts to prove himself, and it's always going to be difficult to make a real impact from the bench.

A loan move to another top-tier club may be ideal for him, but a temporary switch to Elland Road could also be exciting for him.

Leeds are in the promotion mix at this stage and he could play a key part in winning them promotion back to the top level, so this is a move he should consider - no matter how unlikely it is to happen now.