Leeds United transfer gossip as stance of £33m star emerges and Whites offered midfielder

Leeds United target Emi Buendia will not entertain a move to the Championship, according to a report.

Alan Nixon, an EFL journalist for The Sun is reporting on his Patreon that the Argentine midfielder is not keen for a return to the second tier. CEO Angus Kinnear revealed in September that the Whites had an offer rebuffed for the former Norwich City talisman, but with the January transfer window now open, there's an opportunity for them to renew their interest.

Earlier this month, Unai Emery hinted to sister paper Birmingham World that Buendia could depart Villa Park before the window shuts. Villa would only want to loan the midfielder out rather than let him leave permanently, but would entertain an offer if the terms were right.

“Of course, I am very happy with a lot of players,” said Emery. Today, especially with Emi Buendia.

“He has the option to leave but today we needed him and he played fantastic with his qualities, fantastic mentality and fantastic with his commitment with the squad.”

Buendia, who was bought from Norwich for £33m in June 2021, is attracting interest from clubs back in Argentina. Over the last week, Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen has also emerged as a potential destination. Leverkusen are managed by Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso and are in the Champions League. They are guaranteed at least a spot in the play-offs, so they could be an attractive proposition to Buendia.

Emi Buendia’s profile

Buendia missed the 2023/24 campaign after sustaining a knee ligament injury last August. This season, he's played 19 times across all competitions, including an appearance for their under-21s team in the EFL Trophy.

The 28-year-old has been limited to just three starts for their first team this term, scoring just the once, with no other goal contributions. The one-time Argentine international was a revelation for Norwich City in the Championship mind. In his last season at Carrow Road, he notched up 16 assists and 15 goals in 39 appearances, in addition to the 12 assists and eight goals two years prior.

His other clubs include Getafe, where he started his senior career, and Spanish lower league side Cultural Leonessa. Despite being born in Argentina, Buendia made a few appearances for the Spain under-19 team, but made his debut for Argentina in 2022 under Lionel Scaloni.

Leeds United, Everton, and Sheffield United in transfer battle

Leeds, along with promotion rivals Sheffield United, and Everton are interested in signing Danilo Barbosa from Brazilian club Botafogo. Barbosa's contract is up at the end of the year and they do not want to lose him on a free, so they are open to selling him.

A report from the Sunday Mirror says that it would cost £2m for any of the three clubs interested to land him. He's played across various different top-flight leagues in Europe, but returned to Brazil four years ago.

He is a 28-year-old defensive midfielder that has played in Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, and France. The five-time Brazil under-23 international began his career with Vasco da Gama in his homeland, but later signed for Braga, and spent four years at the Estadio Municipal de Braga.

Braga later loaned him out to Valencia, making 34 appearances in total for the Spanish side. His parent club moved him out again, sending him to Benfica, but he made just five appearances for them, and was later recalled to be sent out on loan to Standard Liege, again only making a handful of appearances.

In 2018, Barbosa signed with Nice, and spent three-and-a-half seasons in France, making a total of 50 appearances. Nice loaned him to Palmeiras in 2021, and he appeared 30 times for them, paving the way for Botafogo to sign him in the next season.