Aston Villa officially unveil Buendia as £35m club record signing after beating Arsenal to Norwich star

Aston Villa have officially unveiled Emi Buendia as their £35 million ($50m) club-record signing after beating Arsenal to the Norwich City star.

Villa announced they'd reached an agreement to sign Buendia on Monday, and the move has now been made official following the winger's successful medical on Thursday.

Buendia, who was heavily linked with Arsenal throughout the 2020-21 campaign, has signed a five-year deal at Villa Park and will join up with his new team-mates for the start of pre-season.

What's been said?

Villa boss Dean Smith expressed his delight after Buendia's arrival, telling the club's official website: "Emiliano has just completed an outstanding season in a championship-winning Norwich side with 31 combined goals and assists and was named player of the season across the league.

“He is equally capable as a wide attacker or as a number 10 and is a great addition to our attacking options. We are delighted to have made such an exciting signing so early in the summer and look forward to Emi joining up with us for a full pre-season.”

Buendia's credentials

Buendia moved to Carrow Road from La Liga outfit Getafe in the summer of 2018, and played a key role in helping Norwich return to the Premier League as Championship winners in his first full season at the club.

The 24-year-old was powerless to prevent the Canaries from suffering relegation the following year, but did still manage to stand out in Daniel Farke's struggling side, providing a goal and seven assists in 36 appearances.

Norwich shook off the disappointment of their failed top-flight campaign to bounce straight back up again last season, winning the second tier title once again, with Buendia reaching greater heights than ever before.

The mercurial attacker scored 15 goals in 39 games while also laying on another 16, attracting attention from a whole host of top clubs in the process, and Villa will hope he can also deliver the goods in the Premier League after winning the race for his signature.

Further reading

• Villa sign Buendia to end Arsenal pursuit

• Grealish is 100% fit for the Euros - Smith

• Scholes picks out dream signings for Man Utd