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From 'unselectable' to total domination: Emi Buendia and Norwich rise again

Influential playmaker Emiliano Buendi  - GETTY IMAGES
Influential playmaker Emiliano Buendi - GETTY IMAGES

Norwich City’s passage to the Premier League appeared so smooth in recent months that it is easy to forget the initial path they charted was more North Sea than Norfolk Broads.

They go into Saturday night's game against Bournemouth as a Premier League-elect side, after Millwall and Brentford’s failures to win confirmed their promotion. Inspired by their influential playmaker Emiliano Buendi, they have been propelled back into the top flight on a hot streak of 13 games unbeaten.

But to see how far Daniel Farke’s side - and Buendia - have come this season, you need only look at Farke’s mood the last time Norwich played Bournemouth.

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It was back in October, and they had just lost 1-0 to the Cherries. Farke was asked why Buendia, whose early-season injuries had cleared, had been unexpectedly left out of the matchday squad.

Farke did not hold back: “I’d rather play our kit man than players who are not disciplined or don’t know their responsibility to our supporters. I didn’t have the feeling with Emi or Todd [Cantwell] this week that they were willing to show their desire to defend this yellow shirt or concentrate in training.”

Daniel Farke's reputation has been enhanced as he's guided Norwich back into the top flight  - TONY BUCKINGHAM
Daniel Farke's reputation has been enhanced as he's guided Norwich back into the top flight - TONY BUCKINGHAM

Buendia had been longing for a Premier League move in the wake of Norwich’s dismal relegation last season. Not for the first time in football, transfer speculation had proven problematic.

A transfer did not prove forthcoming. But fast forward six months and Buendia is on the cusp of having his top-flight wish granted without having to look any further than Carrow Road.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for a club who were relegated with just 21 points last season. And at the heart of the great Norwich revival is Buendia, the tiny Argentinian who has undergone his own transformation from unselectable wantaway to the league’s stand-out star.

When Buendia came second in a magazine poll of the Championship’s best players there were no celebrations in East Anglia. In fact, he was understood to be put out at finishing second to Brentford’s Ivan Toney.

And he was right to be. While Toney’s 29-goal haul has been impressive, Buendia’s own numbers are staggering. He tops the Championship list for chances created from open play with 86. Max Aarons, his Norwich team-mate, is second with 57.

With a brief stint at Real Madrid’s academy under Buendia’s belt in his pre-teenage years, Norwich had always hoped to unearth a gem when they plucked him from the Spanish second tier for a bargain £1.5 million in 2018.

Now, at the age of 24, there is a sense that something has truly clicked in East Anglia. It is no surprise to see Buendia’s name increasingly linked with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool among other Premier League clubs, as well as La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

“Double figures in goals, double figures in assists, fantastic in his work against the ball, fantastic in his workload, fantastic mentality, professional but also a great team player who works his socks off for the team,” Farke told Telegraph Sport when asked how important Buendia has been this campaign.

“He’s still a young player but he’s grown over the last couple of months and years in terms of his maturity. He plays an influential role and is a key part of this success.”

Far from a lone figure in Norwich’s success this season, Buendia has formed lethal combinations with Pukki in front of goal and Aarons - who came close to a surprise move to Barcelona last autumn - on the right flank as Farke has fine-tuned his desired short-passing style.

Not only have his side seen more possession and attempted over 100 shots more than any other Championship team, they have done so in eye-catching, attractive fashion. Their 542 occasions of stringing 10 or more passes together compares with a next best of 387. Their long-ball tally is also the lowest in the entire league. At one late stage in the recent 7-0 win over Huddersfield, they played 63 consecutive passes before the chance of a shot was squandered at the final opportunity.

Perhaps time will again expose them as a team simply too good for the Championship but not quite up to the Premier League challenge. Regardless, bouncing back in such style is some achievement.