When you have already spent about £40million on an attacking midfielder, forking out an extra £17m to bring the best from him might appear a little steep.
Yet the prospect of losing his place in the Aston Villa team to Philippe Coutinho seems to have galvanised Emiliano Buendia.
The Argentine, who was Villa’s record signing when he joined from Norwich last summer and took the departed Jack Grealish’s No10 shirt, is a spicy, spiky character. He often has to be told to cool it in training sessions, such is his determination to win the small-sided matches.