Long-time Leeds United transfer target involved in on-pitch altercation with new teammate after Elland Road snub
Long-time Leeds United transfer target Emi Buendia was at the centre of an on-pitch dispute with teammate Victor Boniface during Bayer Leverkusen's 4-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.
The Argentinian signed for Bundesliga champions Leverkusen on loan from Aston Villa during the January transfer window, preferring a first foray into German football instead of reuniting with two-time Championship winner Daniel Farke at Leeds.
Farke and Buendia lifted the Championship title twice with Norwich City and the former retained a significant interest in the Villa playmaker during last summer's window, as well as the January transfer period.
It was Buendia's view seven months ago that dropping back into the Championship would not be a good move for his career, according to Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear, and despite limited minutes at Villa Park during the first half of 2024/25, he remained reluctant to drop down a division.
Since joining Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen at the end of January, Buendia has made five appearances but just one start, which came in the DFB-Pokal.
During his most recent outing off the bench against Robin Koch and Rasmus Kristensen's Eintracht Frankfurt, Buendia was involved in an on-field dispute with teammate Boniface. The pair both went to shoot inside the penalty area, getting in each other's way, which allowed Eintracht to avoid a fifth concession in what was a one-sided affair, ending 4-1 to visitors Leverkusen.
Even though the incident took place at the end of the match with Leverkusen home and hosed, Boniface took issue with Buendia's attempt to score at his expense, shoving the Argentine. Teammates were quickly on the scene to defuse any potential inflammatory situation but Buendia was pictured walking away from the flashpoint shaking his head.
Head coach Alonso said: “I spoke with Boni. I don’t have all the details, but he wanted to shoot. These things happen. We don’t want to make a big deal out of it. We’re staying calm, and on Monday, we move forward.”
Buendia is yet to score or assist for the German side from whom he will return to Villa Park at the end of the season. His future in the West Midlands appears a great deal more uncertain than at the beginning of the season following the arrivals of Donyell Malen, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.
Leverkusen trail league leaders Bayern Munich by eight points with 10 games remaining. They also face the Bavarian club in the Last 16 of this season's UEFA Champions League and visit Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB-Pokal semi-final at the beginning of next month, meaning theoretically, a treble is still on the cards for Buendia this term, albeit unlikely.