Emiliano Buendia is no longer just showing flashes of quality in an Aston Villa shirt.
Those 15 goals and 17 assists in 39 starts for Norwich City last season will tell you that Buendia is no one-trick pony, instead - as Villa fans are starting to see - he is a player who can take games by the scruff of the neck under Steven Gerrard.
The size and stature of the club determines that very rarely will a player arrive at Villa Park without a burgeoning reputation in England or across Europe, but all too often and for whatever reason, many have struggled to settle or carry the weight of a heavy transfer fee in the past.
Decision makers at Villa might have started to ponder those exact fears as their club record buy started slowly following his £35million switch from Carrow Road in the opening months of the season, but many of those doubts have been lifted after Buendia's recent displays.
It would be disrespectful to Dean Smith to suggest Buendia has been given a new lease of life under Gerrard, but there is no doubting that his game suits the new manager's style of play. As a playmaker capable of drifting in off the flanks and combining with midfielders and forwards in the final third to devastating effect, the Argentina international can reach new levels at Villa.
Buendia also has the carrot of making the cut for Lionel Scaloni's 2022 World Cup squad, as do several other members of Gerrard's squad. But for Buendia, who is yet to make his debut on the international stage, has been re-called for Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifiers at the end of January and start of February.
In fact, he has already won over the biggest name in the La Albiceleste squad, and arguably the best player to have ever played the game.
"I maybe did something good to impress him," Buendia told The Guardian, after revealing the details of a conversation he had with Lionel Messi back in 2015.
"He asked: 'What do you want to do? Do you want to play for Spain or Argentina?' Quickly I said: 'Of course I want to play for Argentina. I want to play with you – it is a dream.'"
Buendia didn’t nail his colours to the Argentinian mast until Messi had a word with the then 18-year-old on the Camp Nou pitch nearly seven years ago. He and Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez were both born in Mar del Plata, but Buendia left home and his junior club Cadetes de San Martin for Real Madrid when he turned 11-years-old.
He didn't break through at Madrid, but he had a promising future ahead in following the likes of Hernan Crespo, Sebastian Veron, Diego Milito and most notable of all, the great Diego Armando Maradona in growing up in a Buenos Aires province which are so often the breeding grounds for some of the world’s most famous of footballing icons.
Back in Birmingham and while Villa are plotting their way back to the higher reaches of English football, the recent success they’ve found in the transfer market in signing Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne has fast-tracked their assault.
Buendia arrived at B6 in July of last year, as Villa pipped Arsenal to his signature. After a slow start to life back in the Premier League - having impressed for Norwich back in 2019/20 - the Argentine is beginning to show what he is capable of in claret and blue.
Buendia arguably played his best game for Villa in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United last week and it was a joy to watch him, Jacob Ramsey, Carney Chukwuemeka and of course Coutinho link up in the final 20 minutes of the game as Villa went in search of two goals to restore parity at Villa Park.
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He followed it up with another impressive display against Everton last time out, as his header won the game for Gerrard's side.
The Villa boss said of the Argentine after the victory at Goodison Park: "What he is, is the little warrior.
"Anything you ask him to do, whether it’s the right movements or it’s going to compete, last week against Manchester United and today, he’s going up for headers with people who are a foot taller, but that’s what I love about him. He’s all in."
Buendia is creative, aggressive, and passionate on the pitch. He is starting to reach a level of fitness that allows him to last the duration of a Premier League match without it being a detriment to his quality or hinderance to his decision making.
He has all the qualities to be one of the first names on Gerrard's team sheet week in, week out. The Villa boss demands hard-work and application as a minimum, and that's what he can expect from the diminutive South American.
Buendia won 82 tackles during his first campaign in the Premier League and he was the only player that season to pass 60 for tackles won, successful dribbles (102) and chances created (83).
Unbelievably for an attack-minded player, he won 101 tackles during his first league campaign for the Canaries and in their 2020/21 promotion season, Buendia ranked second for tackles won (93), fourth for interceptions (41) and fifth for clearances (52). And since his Norwich debut, Buendia attempted 503 tackles in the Championship and Premier League over the course of three seasons, which is more than any other player in England’s top two divisions in that time.
This season, Buendia has covered more distance (10.37km) per 90 than any other Villa player.
Buendia ripped up England's second tier from primarily playing down the right flank last season, but Gerrard has allowed him to roam across the front three this term.
"Basically, at Norwich I started as a right winger but had the freedom to move around everywhere," Buendia told Sky Sports.
"Obviously, the style of moving from the wing position to inside gives me the chance to receive the ball [in space].
"But I think it's just a position on paper. I can be flexible and move around in the game to find the best spaces to receive the ball and create.
"At Villa, we are flexible - the three players up front. We can move and switch positions. We can rotate. So it's the game which [dictates] where we play in the moment."
