"Technically, he is better" - Norwich City: Borja Sainz, Emi Buendia debate fuelled | OneFootball

The two forward-thinking players never spent time together at Carrow Road, but they are very similar.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Norwich City have been excellent at times in 2024/25, especially going forward, with Borja Sainz the standout star under Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The Canaries have scored the second most goals in the Championship so far (22), with only Sunderland finding the back more (23), and the Spaniard is the main reason behind their success while attacking.

Sainz is the league's top scorer currently with 10, while he also picked up two assists, meaning that he has been involved with over half of his team's goals in the opening 12 matches of the season.

Included in those 10 goals was a hat-trick against Derby County, with the 23-year-old carrying his side to a controversial victory on a sunny September afternoon at Pride Park, winning the game 3-2.

His performances over his 15 months at Norwich have seen him become the first name on the team sheets, and some supporters may have begun to draw comparisons between him and a former Canary.

Sainz will remind Norwich fans of Emi Buendia

A technical player with an eye for goal, to Football League World's Norwich Fan Pundit, Zeke Downes, Sainz is almost a new version of Emi Buendia, who spent three years at Carrow Road between 2018 and 2021.

He excelled in yellow-and-green, earning himself a move to the Premier League with Aston Villa, now playing in the Champions League under the guidance of Unai Emery.

But it was with the Canaries where the midfielder started to show his true talent, and when asked by FLW which current and former Norwich players are very similar, Zeke named the two Spaniards.

"This question is probably because of Borja Sainz and Emi Buendia," he started. "They are a lot like each other.

"They obviously both speak Spanish and played in Spain. They're both wingers, but they are also quite different. However, they've got a similar temperament.

"I think Buendia was a little bit more feisty and would like to nip at people's heels, and he's not as quick as Sainz either, but technically, he is better, and he's got a wider skill set."

Zeke continued: "Sainz is probably better at scoring goals, especially long-range ones. But assists-wise, there is no comparison at this stage.

"But they are a lot like each other in many ways. But I personally don't think anyone can be as good as Buendia, especially with his output in terms of goals and assists as well. Even defensively, he was really good at that as well."

Buendia was incredible to watch at Norwich

Although he has gone on to achieve great things since leaving East Anglia three years ago, his time at Norwich was filled with success.

He helped the team to promotion twice under Daniel Farke, and although he never played in the Premier League with the Canaries the second time round, it was his goals from the wing that inspired the side to win the Championship title for the second time in three years.

He played a similar role to Sainz, and the two Spanish stars are both adept at finding the back of the net, and there is perhaps a feeling of déjà vu at Carrow Road currently with their number seven providing the strikes that are firing his side into play-off contention.

Nevertheless, this is a new era for Norwich, and they will be hoping that they can repeat their exploits in 2019 and 2021 and get themselves back to the top flight after a relatively long hiatus by their own standards.