Buendia transfer: Aston Villa gem ‘passes medical’ as Leeds United get answer
Leeds United are about to officially miss out on the signing of Aston Villa gem Emi Buendia.
The Whites once looked like serious contenders for the midfielder’s services, but Buendia has decided his next move will not be to Elland Road.
Instead, he will head to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. After claims he would be healthy enough to pass a medical in West Yorkshire, he has passed his tests in Germany ahead of a Premier League exit (Florian Plettenberg, 28 January).
Daniel Farke has seemingly chased the Aston Villa outcast for weeks to no avail.
Leeds United lose out on Emi Buendia
Although the Whites are well-stocked in the attacking third of the pitch, it is not a good look for Angus Kinnear for a public transfer pursuit to fail.
The 28-year-old has always been viewed as an “ambitious” target for Leeds [Alan Nixon], but considering Farke is on track to win the Championship title this term, ambition should be the least of his concerns.
Nevertheless, while Premier League promotion remains a realistic possibility, the upcoming transfer plans must be mapped out with a top-flight berth ahead.
Buendia has scored once in 19 appearances for Aston Villa this term – he clearly isn’t the same player he was pre-ACL injury.
Indeed, the 0-0 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor (27 January) was as dull as top-of-the-table clashes come and did raise some doubts regarding the quality of the Whites frontline.
But still, Manor Solomon, Dan James, Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani provide plenty of attacking threat to fire Leeds to Premier League promotion this term.
Kinnear may be left red-faced as he throws all his eggs in one basket for no reward, but his failings, as things stand, will matter little in the grand scheme of things at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have been told to forget Premier League ambitions after stalemate.
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