Danny Murphy says Aston Villa signing ‘will make mistakes’

Danny Murphy has backed Aston Villa new boy Emiliano Buendia to reach double figures in goals and assists during his first season in the Midlands.

Aston Villa broke their club record at the start of the summer by bringing in the Argentine playmaker for a £35 million fee.

Buendia already has Premier League experience with Norwich City and scored one and set up seven in 37 top-flight games during the 2019-20 campaign, which saw the Canaries get relegated.

But with Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins ahead of him up front, Murphy believes that the South American can register at least 10 goals and the same amount of assists for Aston Villa in his debut season, but added that ‘he will make mistakes’ due to the sort of player he is.

He said to The Daily Mail: “There is no reason the Argentine can’t get double figures for goals and assists and ease the disappointment of losing Jack Grealish. He had a great relationship at Norwich with Teemu Pukki and at Villa he’ll have two strikers in Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings who can play off the shoulder and make good runs in behind.

“Buendia will make mistakes because he’s ambitious with his passing but more often than not he’ll be able to unlock defences.”

Pressure

Considering Jack Grealish has just left Aston Villa in a £100 million move to Manchester City, there’s a lot of pressure on Buendia.

Perhaps he, more than most, will be expected to be the long-term replacement for the 25-year-old in terms of goals and magic from midfield.

The burden of costing £35 million is heavy enough, but Dean Smith is going to need Grealish-type heroics from him and it’ll be fascinating to see whether he’s equal to it.

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