Norwich City supporters must hope Borja Sainz doesn't face Emiliano Buendia fate: View | OneFootball

Borja Sainz could follow Emiliano Buendia's move from Norwich City to a high profile Premier League side

Norwich City's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cardiff City, who are on resurgent form under the guidance of interim boss Omer Riza, leaves the Canaries 10th in the Championship table ahead of their clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.

But all is not lost for Johannes Hoff Thorup's men, who were previously unbeaten in seven, and sit just three points below the play-off positions.

Furthermore, the Canaries are enjoying the services of star man Borja Sainz, who is leading the race for the Championship golden boot, after scoring 11 goals in 13 appearances.

The Spaniard is currently averaging a goal contribution per league game, as he has also produced two assists, which both came during a heavy 4-0 win over Hull City last month.

Furthermore, he was particularly impressive during a 3-2 win over Derby County back in September, as he scored a hat-trick at Pride Park.

Sainz has made a drastic improvement upon his figures from last term, albeit his 2023/24 return of six goals and two assists in 33 appearances and 25 starts during what was his first season in the English game was nothing to be sniffed at.

The 23-year-old's exploits will naturally draw comparisons to Emiliano Buendia ahead of his move to Aston Villa back in 2021. The Argentina international spearheaded the Carrow Road side towards the Championship title in both 2018/19 and 2020/21.

During the 2018/19 season, Buendia scored eight goals as well as creating 12 assists in the second tier, while in an even more impressive 2020/21 campaign, he scored 15 goals and made 16 assists.

The current form of Sainz indicates that he could be on course to emulate those sorts of figures, and in turn, that could mean he may follow the Villa man to the Premier League, even if the Canaries do not win promotion themselves.

Norwich supporters must hope Sainz does not suffer Buendia fate

Sainz's current form shows us that he is highly likely to produce well over 20 goal contributions in the Championship this season, so the Carrow Road faithful would not be able to seriously begrudge the ace if he seeks a Premier League move next summer in the event that the Norfolk outfit do not win promotion.

However, the Canaries supporters would be gutted if the Spaniard made such a move and endured a lack of game time similar to that currently experienced by Buendia.

Throughout his time at Carrow Road, Buendia was one of the first names on the Canaries team sheet and made 39 starts as his former side lifted the 2020/21 Championship title.

During the 2021/22 Premier League season, which marked the Argentine's first in Villa colours, he made 35 appearances and 22 starts – a satisfactory amount of game time albeit fewer minutes than he was accustomed to with his former club.

He then pushed on somewhat during the subsequent 2022/23 season, as he appeared in every single league game for Villa, but still appeared in the starting XI on just 27 occasions, and was not able to be the star of the show as seen during his Canaries days.

Then, in August 2023, Buendia suffered a knee ligament injury which kept him out of action for the entirety of the 2023/24 season, and he would not return until the early exchanges of the current campaign.

However, despite the fact that Villa are currently experiencing a level of fixture congestion they are not normally subject to, due to their participation in the Champions League, the 27-year-old has only been named in Unai Emery's starting XI in the EFL Cup so far this term, and has fallen behind the likes of Morgan Rogers in the pecking order.

Canaries supporters must hope that, if Sainz makes a Premier League move next summer, he does not suffer the same fate currently experienced by Buendia, as he is a talented youngster who deserves the sort of regular playing time he is enjoying at Carrow Road.

It would surely feel particularly frustrating for Norwich to lose another key man only to see him warming the bench in the top flight

There is transfer interest in Sainz

According to Spanish outlet El Correo, La Liga side Athletic Bilbao are keen on Sainz's services, which could indicate that further interest in the Canaries ace could be on the horizon.

However, he has played just one year of his three-year deal at Carrow Road, meaning that the Norfolk outfit are not in any rush to cash in on their star man just yet.

But, due to his scintillating form of late, the argument could be made that Sainz deserves to be playing top-flight football next season, even if the Canaries do not win promotion to the top-flight.

The Carrow Road faithful will hope that if and when the Spaniard moves on, he is able to enjoy regular playing time, unlike the lack of game time currently experienced by former Norwich talisman Buendia at Villa Park.