Emiliano Buendia closes in on new contract with Aston Villa - after battling back from the brink to become one of Unai Emery's favourites

· DailyMail

EXCLUSIVE BY TOM COLLOMOSSE: Emiliano Buendia is close to agreeing a new contract with Aston Villa after positive progress in talks.

Emiliano Buendia is close to agreeing a new contract with Aston Villa after positive progress in talks.

The Argentine's current deal is due to expire at the end of the current campaign and Daily Mail Sport understands a new one would run until the end of the 2028-29 campaign.

Buendia scored one of the goals of the season as Aston Villa beat Freiburg in Istanbul last May to win the Europa League , their first major trophy since 1996.

Villa had an option to extend the previous agreement but were keen not to allow the 29-year-old to enter the final 18 months of it.

Buendia also scored another spectacular goal as Villa won 3-2 at Tottenham before the international break - his third in as many matches at Spurs’ stadium.

Buendia, who turns 30 on Christmas Day, was so far out of the picture at Villa in summer 2025 that he was even proposed to city rivals Birmingham.

But he has slowly worked his way back into favour with Emery and is now one of his most trusted attackers.

In November last year, Emery spoke in glowing terms of his player. 'Everything that happened around him, he deserved it because he worked hard to recover his best form as a player,' he said.

> 'When we decided to keep him here, and he decided to stay here as well, I was confident he could get the numbers he is achieving.'

Buendia started the 1-0 victory at Newcastle at St James' Park so may be left on the bench for Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Viking, as Villa aim for three wins from three in the league phase.

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