Former footballer David Norris has labelled Aston Villa’s decision to pay £40million for Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia as a “gamble”, insisting that with the amount Villa paid, they should have pursued someone who had a proven track record in the Premier League.
Villa announced the deal earlier this month as they reportedly fended off interest from the likes of Arsenal for the signature of the Argentinian, who is valued at £19.8million by Transfermarkt.
Buendia enjoyed a successful season in the Championship, helping Norwich reclaim their place in the Premier League at the first time of asking as they won the league, with the 24-year-old scoring 15 goals and providing 17 assists in all competitions.
However, despite his excellent form, Norris believes the fee Villa paid was a gamble. Speaking to Football FanCast, this is what he had to say:
“I mean, even though the figures are crazy these days, you still probably want a little bit of a guarantee that at least they’ve been there and done it and proven that he can [do it] in that league.
“It’s still a big jump from Championship to Premier League, so £40million, for me, it’s a bit of a gamble I probably wouldn’t want to risk.”
TIF Thoughts on Buendia’s fee…
Norris does make a credible point, it is a lot of money to pay for someone from the second tier. Buendia was part of the Norwich side that was relegated from the Premier League in 2020 and only contributed to nine goals in 39 games in all competitions, a sizeable difference to the numbers he managed last season for the Canaries.
However, Buendia isn’t the first player to come from the Championship with something to prove. Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish smashed all expectations placed on him in his first two seasons back in the Premier League, showing that the transition between the two leagues can be done.