It’s been a difficult 16 months or so for Emiliano Buendia, but the next six could be incredibly important when it comes to his Aston Villa future.
The 28-year-old suffered a devastating knee injury on the eve of last season, and that ultimately robbed him of a year of his career as he went through a gruelling rehabilitation process to get back.
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He’s won that particular battle, as he’s gone on to make 15 appearances so far this season, and that in itself will undoubtedly bring great joy to him in that he is back playing the game he loves despite possibly doubting he would ever get to this point during his recovery.
It’s been great to see him back involved and playing his part, and judging from the reception he receives from the Villa faithful when he enters the pitch, his popularity hasn’t waned as he remains a much-liked figure at the club.
However, he is arguably heading towards a crossroads when it comes to his time at Villa.
Having been limited to just 241 minutes of football so far this season, it has proven to be very difficult for him to gain consistency and momentum through playing regularly, and given his role, position and style of play, trying to get back up to speed and play at the required tempo in cameo appearances off the bench in the last 10 minutes of games is a tricky task.
Further, the signing and emergence of Morgan Rogers has pushed him down the pecking order, as the Villa playmaker has now firmly established himself as a regular starter and an integral part of Unai Emery’s plans moving forward given how well he suits our structure and style of play.
Buendia will have one year remaining on his Villa contract this summer, and that is often the time when club’s make a decision on a player’s future. If Emery and the management still believe in him, will they offer him new terms to extend his stay? If they have doubts and feel as though we need to upgrade in that position, it would be the best time to sell to try and get as good a deal as possible.
Given the soft spot I have for the Argentine ace, whose name adorns the back of my Villa shirt this year, it’s a real shame to even consider that his time at the club might be heading towards an end, but it’s hoped that he still has time to make his mark in the second half of the current campaign to convince and prove to Emery that he is still capable of being an important part of his plans.
It won’t be easy, and our premature exit from the Carabao Cup will have hurt his cause, as that was evidently a competition in which he was set to feature heavily in.
Perhaps the FA Cup will provide more opportunities and we’ll see if he starts against West Ham Utd next week, but it’s fair to say that time and chances are running out for Buendia at Villa as it feels as though we need to continue to evolve and improve. When those opportunities do come his way between January and May, he has to make the most of them and prove that his time at Villa is far from over, and hopefully, he’s able to do exactly that.
