Six threats to Leeds United's Emi Buendia January transfer business as rival clubs' extra motivation revealed

The Argentine playmaker is likely to leave Villa Park over the next fortnight after manager Unai Emery admitted the club were open to loaning out the 28-year-old for the remainder of the campaign.

Buendia has struggled for minutes since returning from a serious knee injury which robbed him of the 2023/24 campaign in its entirety.

As a result, clubs have been alerted to the two-time Championship winner's availability, including Leeds, who retain an interest in the player following a previous summer window approach.

Six months ago, Buendia opted to stay put rather than reunite with Daniel Farke, with whom he lifted two titles at Norwich City, in a bid to prove himself to Emery and the Villa hierarchy. Despite his best efforts, Buendia has been unable to convince them he is deserving of greater involvement and is believed to be open to a loan switch.

While Leeds retain an interest, a host of Spanish clubs are also likely to test the waters. Crucially, each of these sides compete in Spain's top flight 'LaLiga'.

It was said last summer that Buendia's reluctance to join Leeds was borne out of the fact he wished to remain a top division player and that dropping back down into the Championship would not represent a good career move. In this regard, at least, linked teams on the continent still have the upper hand on United.

According to Spanish football expert and Opta editor Jamie Kemp, there are no fewer than six LaLiga clubs who pose a realistic threat to Leeds' Buendia coup.

Following the appointment of Carlos Corberan, it is suggested Valencia may seek reinforcements to bolster the new coach's squad as they look to lift themselves from the relegation zone. Brighton and Hove Albion's Julio Enciso has been linked with a switch to the Mestalla Stadium which stands to reason the club have been looking at attacking midfielders currently out of favour in the Premier League.

Deportivo Alaves' new coach Eduardo Coudet is currently lacking creative midfield profiles, while Buendia's former club Getafe are 'desperate' for new faces, currently short on midfielders and attackers, Kemp told the YEP.

In addition to Getafe, another Madrid-based club Rayo Vallecano pose a potential threat having offloaded Colombian James Rodriguez, freeing up a large chunk of their wage allocation. While Getafe, Alaves and Valencia are embroiled in a relegation battle, Rayo are currently ninth in LaLiga, but by no means are they the only club in the top half of the table Kemp believes could be in for Buendia. Fifth-place Villarreal and eighth-place Girona could also be on the lookout for new faces this month, he says.

Unlike the cabal of LaLiga clubs in need of reinforcements, Leeds are not desperate for signings. While additions would be prudent given there are only three points separating Leeds in the Championship's top spot and Burnley in third, trips to Turf Moor and Bramall Lane still to come and 19 league fixtures remaining, Farke says he is content with his squad. That doesn't necessarily mean the club won't do business, though.

Leeds' current thinking is Buendia will choose Spanish football over a return to the Championship before February 3rd's transfer deadline. Although, the pull of reuniting with Farke and staff for a third tilt at the second tier title should not be underestimated.

Leeds' stance throughout January so far is they anticipate a quiet window. There is a hero narrative to be written for any club that expects to lose out on a target due to factors outside their control, only to snare him at the last from supposedly more attractive propositions - a reality Leeds may well have been forecasting all along.

Whatever comes to pass, it shows at the very least that Leeds have not sat on their hands this month whilst others around them have strengthened. Granted, Ben Brereton Diaz, Enzo Le Fee, Ashley Barnes and Jonjo Shelvey have all joined Leeds' positional rivals but how many of those materially improve Farke's current group, as opposed to a Buendia, for example?

If Leeds can stave off Spanish interest and lure the Argentinian to Elland Road with the promise of regular football, a very realistic probability of promotion to the Premier League and a potential route out of Villa Park for good, with a coaching staff he is already familiar with, it could render rival business secondary to the Championship's primary January coup.

Subscribe to Inside Elland Road, with Graham Smyth for unique, behind-the-scenes Leeds United coverage, expert analysis and exclusive interviews