Money is beginning to make its move around the football world as the transfer market kicks into life with what may be one of the priciest deals of the Covid-hit summer window.
The after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic in football will last for some time, meaning the reported £33m deal for Emi Buendia to Aston Villa may end up being one of the biggest of the summer.
It is certainly one of the first major transfers of the summer window. Much has been made of the fact it will be a club-record fee for an incoming and outgoing player at the respective clubs.
While the transfer underlines Villa’s ambition and faith in Buendia, from a Leeds United perspective it further stresses supreme work done by Victor Orta in the transfer window.
Without having watched Buendia on a regular basis during his one season in the Premier League, Norwich City’s relegation campaign, it would be misguided to definitively say whether the Argentine proved himself in the top flight.
At a very elementary level, the fact the Canaries went down and Buendia scored one goal, with seven assists, in 36 appearances would suggest there was something lacking from the playmaker.
Naturally, in the Championship Buendia has been rampant with an outstanding 15 goals and 15 assists from 39 outings.
Regardless of whether £33m, plus add-ons, proves to be a good deal in this one example or not, the price is the price and it’s almost double what Leeds paid for Raphinha, who produced six goals and nine assists in his 30 Premier League appearances.
Buendia is sure to post much better statistics and attacking returns than he did at Norwich with a stronger, mid-table outfit like Villa.
Even if it does prove to be a good deal in the eyes of Dean Smith, it only highlights the eye for talent and eye for a deal Leeds have in Orta and his scouting department.
It does not take long for the point to land when you consider United brought in Raphinha and Robin Koch for less than Villa will splash out on Buendia.
Extrapolate that correlation across multiple windows and you see the squad United are building with a budget presumably similar to 11th-placed Villa, if not smaller based on the extra year the Birmingham club have had in the top flight.
