Facundo Buonanotte message speaks volumes after Chelsea transfer deadline day decision

Chelsea made just the one signing on transfer deadline day with Facundo Buonanotte arriving on a season-long loan deal from Brighton.

Buonanotte became the Blues' 11th and final incoming - including those arriving on pre-agreements - of the summer transfer window. Chelsea ended up paying Brighton £2million as a loan fee, football.london understands, to take Buonanotte for the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign, with Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler saying he is going to keep a close eye on how the Argentine fares at Stamford Bridge.

"This is a great opportunity for Facundo to play regular Premier League and Champions League football this season and further his development," said Hurzeler. "Facundo has great potential and we see his long-term future with us here, and we will be monitoring his progress with Chelsea this season."

The 20-year-old is a versatile attacker but naturally plays in the No.10 role, so logic would suggest he has been signed to provide adequate cover to Cole Palmer after Chelsea showed interest but ended up not properly pursuing both Xavi Simons and Fermin Lopez. Daniel Orme, who works as a Football Writer at our sister title The Mirror, watched Buonanotte frequently last season when he was on loan at Leicester City and has been chatting to football.london about what Chelsea can expect.

"He's definitely better centrally - albeit he did play off the right on occasion," Orme explained. "He was barely utilised in the second half of the season by Ruud van Nistelrooy. He's comfortable on the ball, it just seems to stick to his foot.

"Goals against Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest particularly are evidence of that. He's also got an excellent eye for a pass and is a good finisher. He can be a bit lightweight at times though and can often drift in and out of games."

It does feel like quite the step up for Buonanotte, who was part of a relegated side in the Foxes last term, and Orme believes, while he has enormous potential to become a superb player, the Argentina international is not quite ready to play for a team as strong as Chelsea.

"He could be but not quite yet," Orme replied when asked if Buonanotte is ready to be a regular starter for the Blues. "I just don't think he's got the consistency to be picked for a side challenging at the top of the league week in and week out. He definitely has potential, though. I actually thought Brighton would want to use him a lot more this season - I'm just not fully sure where he fits in at Chelsea at the current time."

Buonanotte has not been included in the 31-man Argentina squad for their upcoming matches against Venezuela and Peru, so the attacker will have the opportunity to work at Chelsea's training base in Cobham with his head coach Enzo Maresca and new teammates. Buonanotte is in contention to make his debut for the Blues when they take on Brentford on September 13.

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