Leeds United's fortunes turned around in the summer of 2018 as they brought in Marcelo Bielsa as their head coach and he eventually led the club back to the Premier League.
The Whites snapped him up to replace Paul Heckingbottom in the dugout at Elland Road and the ex-Argentina tactician took two seasons to earn promotion from the Championship.
Who were Bielsa's most expensive Leeds signings?
He dipped into the transfer market with varying success throughout his time in Yorkshire and helped to keep the side in the top-flight during his one full season in charge at that level.
Rodrigo
£26m
Dan James
£25.3m
Jean-Kevin Augustin
£18.2m
Diego Llorente
£17.4m
Raphinha
£16.1m
However, it is also worth looking at the players Bielsa was reportedly interested in signing but unable to get through the door at Elland Road.
One target who has gone on to enjoy a terrific career in England so far is Argentina international Emiliano Buendia, who was reportedly eyed by the Whites back in 2018 at the start of the head coach's time with the club.
How much would Buendia have cost Leeds?
TEAMtalk once reported that Leeds missed out on the chance to sign the talented playmaker in the summer of 2018 as he ended up joining Norwich City, who were also in the Championship at the time, for a fee of £1.3m.
The Yorkshire-based outfit were later interested in signing him from the Canaries in 2020 and it was reported that they had a long-standing interest in him dating back to that first summer under Bielsa.
Both teams were keen on signing Buendia after his impressive season on loan from Getafe with Cultural Leonesa in the second tier of Spanish football.
The magical creator averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.16 across 40 league appearances for the club and contributed with six goals and 13 assists from out wide, whilst he also created an eye-catching 14 'big chances' for his teammates.
His terrific displays in Spain convinced teams in England to take notice of him and they were right to do so as he has gone on to enjoy a fantastic time in this country so far.
How many goals did Buendia score for Norwich?
Bielsa and Leeds missed out big time with the exciting wizard as he went on to prove that he was as good, if not better, than Pablo Hernandez at Championship level with 24 goals in 121 games in all competitions for Norwich.
Buendia's debut campaign in the second tier of English football resulted in an average Sofascore rating of 7.25 across 38 outings as Daniel Farke's side won the title and promotion to the Premier League.
He racked up eight goals and 12 assists, along with 2.4 key passes per game, for the Canaries as he showcased his ability to make an impact at the top end of the pitch on a regular basis.
The 26-year-old gem, who also provided five assists in three EFL Cup games during the 2018/19 season, then produced one goal and seven assists in 36 games in the Premier League the following term.
Norwich's relegation back down to the Championship allowed Buendia to thrive at that level once again and he dominated the division with a consistent run of outstanding performances for the Yellows.
The Argentine whiz, who was dubbed a "revelation" by ex-Canaries striker Chris Sutton, won the division's Player of the Season award as he was recognised as the best player in the league for his phenomenal return at the top end of the pitch.
Buendia averaged a sublime Sofascore rating of 7.68 across 39 Championship starts and contributed with a staggering 15 goals and 16 assists from the wing, to go along with 18 'big chances' created and 3.1 key passes per game.
How many goals did Pablo Hernandez score for Leeds?
These statistics show that the ex-Norwich star was up alongside Pablo Hernandez, who scored 36 goals in 175 matches for Leeds, as one of the top Championship creators.
The Spanish magician averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.52 and chipped in with 12 goals and 12 assists, along with 16 'big chances' created and three key passes per outing, across 39 league outings during the 2018/19 campaign.
He followed that up with nine goals and nine assists in 36 Championship games throughout the 2019/20 promotion-winning season under Bielsa, which earned him a Sofascore rating of 7.35.
This means that Hernandez produced 21 goals and 21 assists in 75 second-tier matches throughout those two years under Bielsa, which worked out as an average of one goal contribution every 1.79 games.
Meanwhile, Buendia managed 23 goals and 28 assists in 77 Championship appearances for Norwich, which worked out as one goal involvement per 1.5 outings on average.
These statistics suggest that the current Villans ace made a bigger impact than Hernandez at the top end of the pitch with his terrific ability to provide goals and assists on a regular basis from a wide position.
The ex-Getafe prospect could have come in as the dream replacement for the Spanish maestro, who is 12 years older than the talented hotshot and left Elland Road at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
How much is Buendia worth now?
Buendia, who signed for Aston Villa in the summer of 2021, currently has an Expected Transfer Value of £18.1m (€20.9m) – per FootballTransfers.
This means that his value is up by 1,292% from the £1.3m that Leeds had the opportunity to sign him for in the summer of 2018 if they had beaten Norwich to his signature.
However, that is not the highest that his value soared after his move to England as Villa reportedly splashed out a fee of £38m to sign him from the Canaries.
This was a staggering 2,823% increase on the fee that the Norfolk-based outfit paid Getafe for his signature three years prior to that move.
Therefore, Bielsa and Leeds had a blunder with the Argentina international as they missed out on a perfect Hernandez replacement as well as a possible payday and huge profit in the future.
Failing to secure a deal for Buendia is one that the former Whites head coach may look back on with regret as his form for Norwich suggests that he would have been a phenomenal signing for the club.
