Birmingham City considered shock Aston Villa transfer move - this shows Blues' ambitions | OneFootball

Birmingham City were keen on a deal for Aston Villa's Emi Buendia in the summer transfer window.

Birmingham City were interested in Aston Villa’s Emi Buendia in the summer transfer window, with the attacking midfielder opting to stay with the Premier League side.

Blues won League One in record-breaking fashion last season, with their ambitious US owners putting major funding into Chris Davies’ squad.

Following promotion, that investment has continued this summer, and Birmingham will expect to be in the mix for promotion once again.

Birmingham City had considered transfer move for Aston Villa’s Emi Buendia

It was a productive window for Blues, with Tommy Doyle, Kyogo Furuhashi, Demarai Gray and Marvin Ducksch among the high-profile additions.

However, it seems they were trying to do a deal that would have been very controversial, as Daily Mail reporter Tom Collomosse has revealed Buendia was a target for Blues.

He states that the Argentinian was ‘considered’ by the Championship outfit as they looked to add more quality and creativity to the team, but obviously it didn’t happen, with Buendia remaining at Villa Park.

Had the move happened, Buendia would’ve been the first player to move between the bitter Second City rivals since Scott Hogan went to St. Andrew’s back in 2020.

Potential Emi Buendia transfer shows the ambition of Birmingham City

Obviously, this would have been a deal that attracted headlines due to the rivalry between the clubs, but, purely from a football perspective, it shows the calibre of player that Blues were targeting to help the team this season.

Convincing Buendia to drop to the Championship was always going to be a long shot given his ability, and there would have been top level interest in the attacking midfielder if he was allowed to leave.

But, the fact Blues thought it was a possibility shows just how high they are aiming, and it demonstrates how the owners are trying to make the club a force again, as Buendia would have been a real statement signing.

Overall, all connected to Birmingham will be pleased with the business that they got done this summer, and time will tell whether it’s enough to result in successive promotions.

As for Buendia, you can understand why he stuck around at Villa, and it will be interesting to see if Blues revisit this interest, whether that’s in January, when they will hope to have shown they are genuine promotion contenders, or next season, when they will hope to be back in the Premier League with Villa.