Leeds United have signed Brighton midfielder Facundo Buonanotte on loan for the rest of the 2025–26 season. His time at Chelsea was cut short. The 21-year-old only played for the Blues eight times this season in all competitions, and only 45 minutes of that were in the Premier League as a substitute.
The Argentine didn’t make the Chelsea matchday squad for 15 of the 20 games he could have played, which makes it hard to understand why Brighton agreed to the loan in the first place. During his time at Stamford Bridge, Buonanotte scored one goal and set up two others. His most recent contribution was setting up Tosin Adarabioyo’s goal against Charlton in the third round of the FA Cup.
The move is very ironic. Leeds had set up a private jet to fly Buonanotte north for a medical in August, but Chelsea made a last-minute offer that ruined the deal. The young player chose Stamford Bridge over Elland Road because he thought he would have more chances in west London. That bet has gone horribly wrong.
Leeds are currently in 16th place in the Premier League, eight points above the relegation zone. They will be hoping that Buonanotte can keep up that level of play. Daniel Farke’s team have relied on Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a lot of their goals this season, and the Argentine’s ability to play in different positions up front gives them the depth they need.
For Buonanotte, it’s a chance to save a season that was about to slip away. He is 21 years old and has played for Argentina twice at the senior level. He needs to play football regularly to keep growing. He hasn’t had a string of starts in the last year, which is worrying for a player who is still in the early stages of his career.
Brighton’s Connection To Chelsea Raises Eyebrows Again
Chelsea have signed a lot of players from the south coast team in the past few years, including Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, and Joao Pedro, as well as a number of coaches and scouts. The financial relationship seems strong, but the Buonanotte deal makes it look like Brighton may have put keeping that relationship ahead of their player’s immediate development needs.
People will criticize the choice to loan an exciting young player to a direct Premier League rival, only to have him sit on the bench. Brighton could have sent Buonanotte to Leeds from the start, where he would have gotten a lot of playing time.
