Leeds United are set to receive a boost to their midfield ranks as they close in on the signing of Brighton’s Facundo Buonanotte, according to TEAMtalk journalist James Marshment.
Joining Brighton from Rosario Central in a £10m deal last January, Buonanotte has made 14 appearances for Roberto De Zerbi’s side, scoring once and notching one assist. Yet with the addition of new signings Joao Pedro and Simon Adingra this summer, Buonanotte would most likely find his game time at the AMEX more limited this term.
Signing the 18-year-old would fill a notable gap in midfield depth for Leeds, who alongside losing USMNT international Tyler Adams to Bournemouth in recent days, have also lost the presence of Marc Roca, Brenden Aaronson and Adam Forshaw in the middle of the park.
The lack of players available to manager Daniel Farke was evident in Leeds’ clash with West Brom at Elland Road last Friday evening – a match in which the club could only field even substitutes, two of them being goalkeepers.
Whilst the acquisition of Buonanotte would go some way towards rectifying the Whites’ concerning lack of squad depth, the feeling persists amongst the Elland Road faithful that the addition of a reliable striker, No 10 and a midfielder should also sit high on the list of transfer priorities.
It is understood that Leeds would prefer to sign Buonanotte permanently, yet Brighton are only prepared to sanction the midfielder’s departure “on a loan basis only”.
Were the deal for the one-time capped Argentina international to be completed as expected, he would become the Whites’ fifth signing of the summer following Ethan Ampadu, Karl Darlow, Sam Byram and Joe Rodon.
And, with less than two weeks of the summer transfer window remaining, Leeds supporters will be keen to see this list grow significantly longer before the deadline arrives on Friday 1st September.
