Chelsea reached a deal for Facundo Buonanotte’s loan move after Leeds saw them heading to Brighton & Hove Albion attacking the collapse of midfielder.
Leeds booked a flight Thursday afternoon to take Bunanantot to West Yorkshire, but he never boarded.
Brighton has been in a loan move with Leeds, which keeps Argentina International in the Premier League, which will secure his homeland status from January. Top newcomers are confident to make a deal with the club and players and book a medical reservation for Buonanotte's arrival.
However, it is the club's World Cup champion now that seems ready to sign Bunanot, who scored six goals and three assists in 35 games on loan at Leicester City last season.
Chelsea have been seeking an offensive midfielder and are interested in RB Leipzig's Xavi Simons move, who now agrees to move to Tottenham Hotspur. Barcelona's Fermin Lopez is another target for Chelsea, and Chelsea wants Christopher Nkunku to join AC Milan.
The Buonanotte move will represent the latest move in a series of deals between Chelsea and Brighton. Joao Pedro went in the same direction earlier this summer, while Moises Caideo, Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella have taken the same move in the past. Graham Potter and other behind-the-scenes staff switched between Dugouts in September 2022.
Julio Enciso is another Brighton player who is talking about moving to Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg – Blueco is also the Ligue 1 team owned by Blueco – which may also see him eventually at Stamford Bridge in the future as well.
The 11th hour crash in Leeds trades kept them from choosing as the transfer deadline approached. Daniel Farke has made no secret of his desire to see offensive reinforcements by 7pm on Monday.
Bilal El Khannouss, Dilane Bakwa, Eduard Spertsyan and Manor Solomon are all interested in Leeds players.
(Photo: Michael Reagan/Getty Image)
August 29, 2025
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