OPINION
Leeds United dropped to second in the Championship table on Saturday night after sinking to a 3-1 defeat to Norwich City at Elland Road, but things might have been different if the Yorkshire giants had managed to sign Emiliano Buendia when they reportedly had the chance to last summer.
Buendia, 22, has been one of the best players in the Championship this season and has played a major role in helping the Canaries to beat the Whites on their home turf this weekend.
Not only did the Argentine help carve up the Leeds defence on Saturday, but he has also been doing it to teams up and down the country this season in England’s second-tier, and he is definitely within a shout of winning the player of the season award come the end of the campaign.
Buendia has been superb for Norwich and a real thorn in the side of Leeds in the race for promotion, but what makes things worse is that the 22-year-old should reportedly have signed for the Whites.
Sun journalist Alan Nixon reported on his personal Twitter account on Sunday that the dazzling winger should have joined United before heading to Carrow Road last summer.
Buendia was on the books at Getafe last term, but spent the 2017/18 campaign on loan at Culutral Leonesa, who are affiliated with the Whites.
In Leonesa he played alongside Leeds loanees Ouasim Bouy and Yosuke Ideguchi and it is understood that he was sent on loan to that team in the summer of 2017 with the view to him being signed by the Yorkshire giants a year later in the last summer transfer window.
Thought Norwich had remarkable guts when under fire. Ironic lad Buendia should have been a Leeds player. He loved it. https://t.co/aJUHuDGWPH
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) February 3, 2019
Buendia was sent to your sister club in Spain with a view to being brought over by Leeds a year later. Fizzled out … https://t.co/3Nb1Bs6alo
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) February 3, 2019
It is real shame that Leeds swoop to sign Buendia “fizzled out”.
As mentioned, the Argentine attacker has been in dazzling form for Norwich, scoring three goals and supplying 10 assists in 28 appearances across all competitions.
Marcelo Bielsa was widely-reported to be interested in signing a winger in the January transfer window as well with Daniel James almost joining from Swansea before the Welsh club pulled the plug in the eleventh hour.
Buendia is not only better than James but he is also better than the wingers that Bielsa already has in his starting line-up.
Yes, Jack Clarke is the future, but Buendia is already a finished product who can tear teams to shreds – just imagine what Bielsa could have achieved with his fellow Argentine.
Leeds would surely have promotion back to the Premier League if they had him in their squad.
Not only would he be a major upgrade on what the Whites already have but he would also not be at Norwich.