Chelsea to TERMINATE star's loan transfer six months early — with deal already agreed for him to join Leeds United — Mail 15/1/26

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By BEN WILLCOCKS, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Facundo Buonanotte's loan from Brighton to Chelsea is set to be cancelled mid-season, paving the way for him to swap and play for Leeds United.

The west London club agreed a surprise loan deal with Brighton last summer to sign Buonanotte for the season, despite having one of the most bloated squads in the Premier League and several young players already fighting it out for game time.

Despite paying Brighton £2million to acquire Buonanotte for the season, Chelsea are set to terminate the Argentina international's deal with immediate effect after only giving him a handful of games at Stamford Bridge.

Buonanotte, 21, has only started one match in the Premier League so far this campaign - a 45 minute appearance against Brentford in September - and played a total of eight games across all competitions for Chelsea.

Although poised to move back to Brighton, who viewed him as surplus to requirements at the start of the season, Buonanotte is expected to move immediately to Elland Road on another short-term loan deal.

Leeds will hope the attacking midfielder can play a major role for Daniel Farke in his fight to ward off relegation, with his side currently 16th in the Premier League and eight points clear off the drop zone.

Buonanotte arrived at the Amex as an exciting young prospect from Argentina outfit Rosario Central in 2023, back when Roberto De Zerbi was at the helm.

But since the arrival of Fabian Hurzeler, the 21-year-old playmaker has fallen well down the pecking order and out of Brighton's first team plans, continually shipped out on loan.

Last season, Buonanotte spent a season on loan at Leicester City, chalking up 35 appearances across all competitions before returning to Brighton after the Foxes suffered relegation to the Championship.

Should his move to Elland Road go through this month, it would mark Buonanotte's third loan spell in just 18 months.

Buonanotte, who has two senior caps to his name for Argentina, expressed his excitement at being able to play Champions League football for Chelsea after sealing his move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, only to be left out of Enzo Maresca's European squad two days later.

Fortunately for the Argentine, who was being used sparingly in the Premier League, he was later added and starred for the Blues against Champions League opponents Benfica, Ajax and Qarabag.

New Chelsea boss Rosenior has no shortage of options in attacking midfield and out wide, Buonanotte’s preferred positions, with Cole Palmer, Estevao, Jamie Gittens, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho to choose from.

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