There is no doubt that Leeds United are embroiled are in a hotly-contested race to secure automatic promotion out of the Championship this season.
The Whites are battling it out with Sheffield United, Burnley, and Sunderland to land a place in the Premier League next season, after they missed out to Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton last term.
Daniel Farke knows that his side will retain their place at the top of the division with a win over Norwich City at Elland Road this evening, after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 last time out on Sunday.
Goals from Manor Solomon, Largie Ramazani, and Ao Tanaka swept Danny Rohl’s side away with relative ease, and Farke will be hoping for more of the same when the Canaries come to town tonight.
With the fierce competition for automatic promotion from their rivals, Leeds could decide to dip into the market before the end of the January transfer window, which still has more than a week left to run before it slams shut.
The West Yorkshire outfit are, in fact, reportedly looking at a potential reunion for Farke with a Premier League player who could be on the move this month.
Leeds eyeing Premier League star
According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United remain keen on a deal to sign Aston Villa attacking midfielder Emiliano Buendia ahead of the second half of the season.
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The report claims that the Whites have retained an interest in the Argentina international after they failed to secure a swoop to bring him to Elland Road in the summer, because the midfield whiz was unwilling to drop back down to the Championship at the time.
It states that Buendia wanted to stay and fight for his place at Villa, who are in the Champions League, but he has been unable to break into the starting line-up and Unai Emery has admitted that the club are open to sending him out on loan before the end of the January transfer window.
The Yorkshire Evening Post adds that several clubs in LaLiga, the Spanish top-flight, are also eyeing up potential moves to sign the former Norwich City playmaker, although no individual teams have been named as of yet.
This suggests that it could be a difficult deal for Leeds to get over the line if they are competing with clubs in a major European league, particularly given the player’s reluctance to drop down to the second tier last summer.
If Farke can convince his former star to work with him again, the West Yorkshire outfit could land their answer to Sheffield United’s deal to sign Ben Brereton Diaz from Southampton.
Sheffield United's big move for Brereton Diaz
The Blades have officially completed the signing of the Chile international on loan from the Saints, with an option to make it a permanent deal in the summer for a fee of £10m, in a big move to bolster their promotion hopes.
Like Buendia, Brereton Diaz struggled for game time in the Premier League in the first half of the season, with just ten appearances and four starts for the struggling Southampton side.
However, the former Blackburn Rovers star did catch the eye with a return of six goals in 14 Premier League matches for Sheffield United when they were relegated from the top-flight last season, which means that the forward is returning to a club, and a manager, that he has had success with in the past.
Appearances
37
43
Goals
22
14
Big chances missed
17
8
Big chances created
3
8
Assists
3
4
As you can see in the table above, Brereton Diaz has been a star in the Championship in the past, with 36 goals for Blackburn in his last two seasons at that level combined.
The talented forward has the finishing quality to be a huge threat to opposition defences in the Championship, but it just did not work out for him in the Premier League in a struggling Southampton side this season.
Sheffield United will now be hoping that his potential to score goals on a consistent basis can provide them with an edge over their rivals in the second half of this term.
However, Leeds could answer back with their own Brereton Diaz-esque signing by pushing to land Buendia on loan from Aston Villa before the end of the window.
Why Buendia would be Leeds United's Brereton Diaz answer
The signing of the Argentine star would be incredibly similar to Sheffield United’s deal to sign the Chile international, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, like Brereton Diaz, Buendia has struggled for game time in the Premier League so far this season, with zero starts and 11 appearances in total, which means that Leeds would be taking advantage of a frustrating situation to reignite his career – much like the Blades are hoping to do.
Secondly, like with Wilder and the Chilean ace, the Villans outcast would be returning to work with a manager he already knows, having won two Championship titles with him at Norwich earlier in his career.
Finally, and most importantly, Buendia, who was once hailed as “magical” by analyst Liam Henshaw, is also a proven performer in the second tier who could come in with the potential to provide a gigantic threat in the final third.
Appearances
38
39
Goals
8
15
Big chances created
7
18
Key passes per game
2.4
3.1
Assists
12
16
As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old star has the quality to contribute with goals and assists on a consistent basis from an attacking midfield or wide position in the Championship.
These statistics suggest that Buendia has the potential to provide Farke’s Leeds team with a big boost to their hopes of promotion to the Premier League, given that his goals and assists have already heavily contributed to two title-winning sides at that level.
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Therefore, the Whites could sign their answer to Sheffield United’s big move for Brereton Diaz by securing an even bigger signing in the form of the Argentine playmaker.