Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Mon 25 May 2026 14:00, UK

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Emiliano Buendia is in the form of his life and Aston Villa must ensure that he is now allowed to leave the club this summer.

The midfielder’s current contract is set to expire in 2027 after he agreed last summer to extend it by one year, with several clubs undoubtedly monitoring his situation.

Buendia had looked likely to leave Villa last summer, having been forced to spend the second half of the season at Bayer Leverkusen on loan in a bid for more minutes on the pitch.

The Argentine had missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season through injury and had failed to impress when he did make it off the bench upon his return.

But this season has flipped the trajectory of his time at Villa Park completely on its head, with Villa transfer chiefs now set to do all they can to agree a new contract.

Emiliano Buendia’s staggering stats vs Manchester City

Football Insider exclusively revealed last month that Villa will enter talks with Buendia at the end of the season, and the last week has intensified the need for an agreement.

The Argentine starred in Istanbul on Wednesday as the Villans beat Freiburg 3-0 to win the Europa League, curling in a stunning second and providing the assist for Morgan Rogers’ goal.

And on Sunday, Buendia was in fantastic form yet again, as Ollie Watkins’ double saw Unai Emery’s team win at the Etihad Stadium for the first time in the Premier League since 2007.

Antoine Semenyo had opened the scoring on what was a day to say goodbye to Pep Guardiola, John Stones and Bernardo Silva, but Villa were on hand to ruin the festivities.

Buendia may have had an assist when he played Leon Bailey through in the second half, but the winger struck the post.

The Argentine created two other chances and was fouled three times, but it was his defensive work which was simply unbelievable.

The 29-year-old ended the game with an extraordinary eight tackles, along with three interceptions, four recoveries and a staggering 11 duels won.

Buendia’s comments give hope of contract renewal

It would have been easy for Emery to part ways with Buendia last summer. The 29-year-old barely played last season and had never massively impressed for Villa.

But the Spaniard kept faith in the midfielder, and he has been rewarded with 11 goals and nine assists from arguably his most consistent performer this season.

From the midfielder’s words after the Europa League final, it would appear that they will have no trouble agreeing a new contract in the coming weeks.

“Yeah, there could be that chance [to leave] but I always tried to refuse everything,” Buendia said, speaking about last summer.

“I wanted to stay here, I wanted to play for this club. If the chance never came, maybe the ways will be different, but I think until the last moment I could play for this club and achieve good things.

“I worked so much for this. I’ve been working in everything to have a night like this.”