Leeds chief reveals attempted pursuit of Villa forward Buendia

Nevertheless, Villa was determined to retain the talented playmaker, despite his recent comeback 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."