Brighton & Hove Albion announced on their official website on Thursday that they have cancelled Argentina attacking midfielder wonderkid Facundo Buonanotte's Chelsea loan deal and have loaned-out the player to Leeds United.

According to Brighton's official statement, Buonanotte will play for Leeds United on loan until the end of the season, and the loan agreement does not include a buy-out clause.

Leeds United also announced that he will wear his iconic number 40 shirt for the club.

Furthermore, according to The Athletic's resident renowned English Brighton team correspondent Andy Naylor, Chelsea had originally agreed to sign Buonanotte on-loan with obligation to buy deal with Brighton last summer. However, the player has only made fewer than 10 appearances since joining the club, causing great dissatisfaction among the Seagulls and Buonanotte himself.

Chelsea initially wanted to propose to sign Buonanotte on-loan obligation to buy to their sister club Strasbourg. However, the Blues had already facilitated too many player transfers between Chelsea, Brighton, and Strasbourg this season, either on-loan or permanent transfers.

These players are: Mamadou Sarr, Ben Chilwell, Mike Penders, Julio Enciso, Kendry Paez, Valentin Barco, and Emmanuel Emegha.

If Buonanotte were to join the Ligue 1 club in this manner, all three clubs would be in serious violation of FIFA and UEFA transfer regulations, thus Chelsea had to abandon the plan.

About Facundo Buonanotte

Buonanotte, who is only still 21 years old, was born on December 23, 2004, in Perez, Argentina. He is 1.76 meters tall, primarily plays as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a right winger. He holds dual Argentine and Italian citizenship.

Buonanotte joined Rosario Central's youth academy at the age of 10 and completed his Rosario Central first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in February 2022.

The following January, Buonanotte joined Brighton for £5.3 million.

In August 2024, Buonanotte was loaned-out to Leicester City.

Despite failing to help the Foxes avoid relegation, Buonanotte was still highly praised for his outstanding individual performances.

Last August, Buonanotte joined Chelsea on-loan with an on-loan with obligation to buy.

However, in the first half of the season, Buonanotte only made 8 appearances for the Premier League giants in all competitions, scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists.