Aston Villa beat Arsenal to sign £33m Buendia from Norwich

ASTON VILLA have nipped ahead of Arsenal to sign Emiliano Buendia from Norwich for a club-record deal worth an initial £33m.

Arsenal were reportedly the frontrunners to get the Argentine forward but Villa appeared to be more intent on buying the 24-year-old.

“Aston Villa and Norwich City have reached an agreement for the transfer of Emiliano Buendia,” Villa announced on Monday.

“As Emiliano is currently in the Argentina national team’s biosecure bubble, preparing for a World Cup qualifying match with Colombia on Tuesday evening, he will undergo a medical and complete the transfer after the game.”

Buendia played a pivotal role last season as Norwich City won the Championship and gained promotion back to the Premier League.

The Argentina star, who was also with Norwich when they got relegated from the Premier League two seasons ago, was voted the club’s Player of the season after scoring 15 goals and making 16 assists in 39 Championship appearances.

He first joined Norwich City on loan from Getafe in 2018 before the move was made permanent.

The deal with Aston Villa could rise to £38m with add-ons, according to reports.

It eclipses Villa’s previous record signing of Ollie Watkins from Brentford which was an initial £28m potentially rising to £32m.