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News
- 1 hours ago
Chelsea are about to make the WEIRDEST signing of the summer
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 29 Aug 2025 16:51 BST
- 5 min read
Analysis
Are Chelsea about to complete the weirdest transfer of the summer? Well, yes, quite possibly.
The Blues’ transfer policy under the ownership of Clearlake Capital has been mocked, ridiculed and slammed, yet it led to their triumph at the new-look 2025 Club World Cup.
Current ETV
Facundo Buonanotte
AM (C), M (CR)
Facundo Buonanotte
AM (C), M (CR)
Brighton
ETV Range
€27.2M - €33.3M
Chelsea will therefore now be considered ‘world champions’ for the next four years, but their most recent piece of transfer business is extremely bizarre to say the least.
The bombshell news was first delivered by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who posted on X: “EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea are working on deal to sign Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton.
“Negotiations underway with Brighton for Argentine talent in the list of several clubs in UK, Borussia Dortmund and more. Deal on.”
This was subsequently followed up by The Athletic’s Davd Ornstein, who revealed that Chelsea were in negotiations over a loan deal for Buonanotte after his failed move to Leeds United.
Romano then added: “More on Facundo Buonanotte and Chelsea exclusive story.
“The agreement with Buonanotte is 100% done, he’s accepted Chelsea proposal. Chelsea and Brighton in very advanced talks for deal to be structured with initial loan. Very close now.”
Buonanotte is set to become the seventh player to join Chelsea from Brighton since 2022, but he will become the first to complete the move on loan.
The Seagulls were adamant that a permanent sale wouldn’t be permitted this summer, as per Ben Jacobs, and Chelsea are now on the verge of signing the 20-year-old on loan after arranging a deal in double-quick time.
Although Buonanotte is talented, this transfer is undoubtedly the weirdest of the summer window so far.
Facundo Buonanotte to join Chelsea?
First of all, the main reason why Chelsea have targeted signing young players over the past few years is to either develop them into key players at the club or flip them for profit.
Signing Buonanotte on loan won’t help them achieve either of those things. He won’t be at the club beyond next summer (unless an option or obligation to buy clause is included in the deal) and he therefore can’t be sold for profit. Strange.
Furthermore, the Argentine clearly isn’t fancied by Brighton, who are well below Chelsea in the football food chain, and he wasn’t in favour under Ruud van Nistelrooy at Leicester City last season either.
Despite an encouraging start to his loan spell at the King Power Stadium, Buonanotte only started four of Leicester’s final 22 Premier League matches (excluding fixtures versus his parent club Brighton).
So, Chelsea are set to sign Buonanotte on loan, despite the fact he won’t have any sell-on value and couldn’t start for a Leicester side who were one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
Buonanotte has displayed his talent in glimpses and he could prove to be a shrewd short-term pick-up by Chelsea, but a loan deal makes very little sense and it can certainly be argued that he’s unlikely to rack up meaningful minutes this term due to the immense competition for places at Stamford Bridge.
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