Leeds United missed out on Facundo Buonanotte to Chelsea, with the versatile winger joining on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Brighton playmaker Facundo Buonanotte is a long-term Leeds United target, dating back over two years now. The Argentine playmaker can be utilised as a right-sided winger or an attacking midfielder.

His set-piece ability and shot from range, combined with his versatility in those half-spaces, make him an interesting profile of player. We actually suggested Leeds sign Buonanotte again and revive a deal this summer due to that.

It was then exclusively revealed by Leeds United News what Brighton’s stance on Buonanotte was and that Leeds have ‘never left the table’ for his signature this summer.

Brighton and Hove Albion attacking midfielder Facundo BuonanottePhoto by Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesFacundo Buonanotte left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad

Farke wanted a versatile creative player. Buonanotte’s ability as either a No.10 or winger made him that and Leeds then led the race for Buonanotte.

It looked for all the world like they would sign Buonanotte before the deadline, with a loan deal between Brighton and Leeds likely to go through after it was claimed Brighton preferred a loan to England as well this summer. 

Leeds United News have learnt that Buonanotte always favoured a move to Borussia Dortmund. However, Dortmund have saw bid rejected for Buonanotte due to Brighton’s preference, which is why the door was open for Leeds.

A twist then emerged, as Graham Smyth confirmed Buonanotte’s Thursday flight to Leeds was cancelled. Initially, it was not known why, but it quickly became clear that there was an issue with the deal.

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Then, disaster struck, as Chelsea then hijacked the move for Buonanotte instead, with BlueCo also agreeing a straight loan deal for the season with Fabian Hurzeler and Brighton after missing out to Spurs on Xavi Simons.

Buonanotte was always likely to have his head turned by Chelsea, even if Leeds were making assurances to him regarding regular game time in West Yorkshire. The Champions League outfit won the race in the end.

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As Sripad on twitter/X explained, Buonanotte said upon joining: “It’s a great step in my career. I’ll get the opportunity to play in the Champions League for the first time, which will be a great challenge.”

Now, Ben Jacobs and others have revealed the full list of players for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea’s UCL squad for the first half of the season, with no Buonanotte to be seen.

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His previous comments have already aged poorly and he will feel like promises have been broken. It already appears as though he might have made a mistake in moving to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea paid a £2 million loan fee for Buonanotte.

Brighton and Hove Albion's Facundo BuonanottePhoto by Masashi Hara/Getty ImagesRobbie Evans’ view of missing out on Facundo Buonanotte

If Buonanotte doesn’t play, then Leeds will be far more frustrated at his decision to reject them for the London outfit, with an injury crisis the only way it looks like he will now play for the Blues as often as he would have in West Yorkshire.

Players like Buonanotte and Harry Wilson could have had a huge impact in terms of their overall skill-set, although Robbie Evans spoke to The Athletic and believes it won’t be essential to survival long-term to miss out on one profile.

He said: “A set-piece-taking, inside of wing, No 10 type is the one thing we’re still sort of missing, and we’d love to have that to just sort of round out the entire summer. At the same time, when you look at a 25-man roster with 10 entrants, it’s very unlikely (that) one thing ends up being the deciding factor.

“On the one hand, you’d like to tick every single box. But at the end of the day, for us, the 24 guys we woke up with yesterday versus the 25 we could have had will probably only incrementally change our odds long term in our goal of staying up.”