Leeds United CEO Angus Kinnear has revealed they tried to sign an Aston Villa star.
The Elland Road team made an ambitious attempt to secure Emi Buendia.
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However, Villa did not want to sell the playmaker, who has come back from a serious knee injury.
Speaking on the Square Ball podcast, Kinnear said: "One of the things which has been a theme across the summer is getting to players who really wanted to play for Leeds United.
“That’s really hard because it surprised me how much players want to play in the Premier League versus the Championship.
"Buendia was on our list, and very clearly (the feedback) from Aston Villa (was that he) wasn’t going to be released, and the player didn’t want to come back down. He felt he’d served his time at Championship level."