Jadon Sancho and Aston Villa's UEFA Europa League finalists with a Bundesliga past
There will be some familiar faces in the matchday squad when Aston Villa go up against Freiburg in the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday. We take a closer look at the Villans who have played in the Bundesliga...
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After leaving the Manchester City youths for Borussia Dortmund as a teenager in 2017, Sancho's career exploded in the Bundesliga. Across two spells with Dortmund, he produced 40 Bundesliga goals and 54 assists in 118 league appearances, establishing himself as one of the the German top tier's most devastating wide players before earning a high-profile move to Manchester United in 2021.
Despite representing England at the rearranged UEFA Euro 2020 finals, Sancho hasn't quite hit the same heights in English club football. The now 26-year-old has produced just four goal involvements in 2025/26 as he nears the end of a season-long loan at Villa, but that hasn't deterred Dortmund from exploring ways to potentially bring him back to Signal Iduna Park for the third time this summer.
Maatsen played in the same Dortmund side as Sancho during the second half of 2023/24. The Dutch left-back returned to parent club Chelsea enriched by the experience of 16 Bundesliga and seven UEFA Champions League appearances for BVB, before completing a move to Villa on a permanent deal.
Maatsen continues to enjoy regular minutes under Unai Emery, though he is not necessarily a guaranteed starter. The 24-year-old has also earned his first senior international cap since his formative stint at vaunted talent nurturers Dortmund.
More of a fringe player at Villa, Bailey once enjoyed star status at Bayer Leverkusen. The Jamaican winger spent four and a half years at the BayArena, where his blistering pace, direct dribbling and eye for goal quickly turned him into one of the Bundesliga's most exciting young talents.
Bailey registered 28 goals and 20 assists across 119 Bundesliga appearances, including a career-best nine of each in his final season in a Leverkusen shirt in 2020/21. He also scored an impressive four goals in 12 competitive meetings with record champions Bayern Munich.
Emiliano Buendía
Buendía's stint at Leverkusen was much shorter. The Argentine midfielder arrived in Germany during the 2024/25 winter transfer window, looking for regular minutes after recovering from a long-term knee injury. The loan deal also provided him with the opportunity to play under one of European football's most astute young coaches in 2023/24 Bundesliga and DFB Cup-winning architect Xabi Alonso.
Buendía made 14 appearances, scoring twice as Leverkusen finished Bundesliga runners-up behind Bayern. Die Werkself also exited the Champions League to Bayern, before being shocked by 3. Liga's Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Cup semi-finals. The 29-year-old is now a key player for Emery, with eight goal involvements during the club's run to the Europa League final alone.
