Villa's Argentine Puzzle: What Happens When Your Loan Star Comes Home?

By Lewis Barnett 31 May, 2025 5 mins read 65 Views

So Emi Buendia's back from Germany, and honestly? Nobody seems to know what to do with him.

The Argentine midfielder just wrapped up his stint at Bayer Leverkusen - two goals in 11 appearances, which isn't exactly setting the world on fire - and now Villa are scrambling to find him another temporary home. It's like that awkward moment when your college friend crashes on your couch "just for a few days" and three weeks later you're still tiptoeing around each other in the kitchen.

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Daniel Farke's Reunion Tour?

Word is that Buendia wants another crack at the Premier League (can't blame him there), and his old boss Daniel Farke at Leeds is supposedly sniffing around. Makes sense - Farke knows exactly what he's getting with Buendia, having worked with him before. But here's the thing that's bugging me about this whole situation.

Leeds have other fish to fry right now.

They're back in the big leagues after promotion, and frankly, they've got bigger holes to plug than adding another creative midfielder who couldn't nail down a spot at Leverkusen. Plus - and this is the kicker - they can only bring in two Premier League loans total. You really gonna burn one of those spots on a guy who might not even start?

Meanwhile, Villa's Real Drama...

While everyone's focused on where Buendia ends up, the real soap opera at Villa Park involves the other Emi. Martinez has been absolutely brilliant between the sticks for Unai Emery's side, but that emotional breakdown after their final home game? Taking a bow in front of the Holte End like he was saying goodbye?

Come on. We've all seen this movie before.

Neil Cutler, who coached Martinez and apparently knows him well, basically confirmed what we're all thinking: "This summer is pivotal for Emi in terms of his career." Translation: he's gone if the right offer comes in. Cutler mentioned Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico... even Manchester United. That's quite the shopping list.

The Domino Effect Nobody's Talking About

Here's what's really interesting though - Villa missed out on Champions League football to Chelsea and Newcastle after that brutal final-day loss to Manchester United. That changes everything. Without European nights to offer, how do you keep your best players happy?

Martinez has been voted best goalkeeper in the world twice (twice!), and now he's watching lesser keepers play in Europe while he's stuck in the Conference League. I'd be emotional too.

If Martinez does leave, Villa have reportedly been eyeing Lucas Chevalier from Lille, Joan Garcia at Espanyol, and Nice's Marcin Bulka as replacements. Solid options, but none of them are Emi Martinez.

Back to Buendia's Limbo

So where does this leave our original protagonist? Buendia's sitting in this weird middle ground - too good for the Championship, not quite clicking in the Premier League, and definitely not impressing enough in Germany to earn a permanent move.

The guy's 28 now. This isn't development time anymore; this is make-or-break territory.

Maybe Leeds will come through with an offer. Maybe another Premier League club will take a punt on him. Or maybe he'll end up at some mid-table European side where nobody will pay attention to whether he succeeds or fails.

Either way, Villa need to make a decision soon. You can't keep shuffling players around on loan forever, hoping someone else will solve your problems for you.

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How To

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