Facundo Buonanotte is on Leeds United’s radar going into Monday’s transfer deadline – but it would now appear Chelsea are the frontrunners for his signature.
Buonanotte fits the criteria that Daniel Farke had idealised – a number 10 who can play out wide. Recent matches have underscored why he wants such a player – not only to bolster attacking options but so that he can switch more seamlessly between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1.
Buonanotte has notched nine goals and four assists in 71 Premier League appearances for both parent club Brighton & Hove Albion, and loan club of last season Leicester City. The playmaker, 20, has two caps for Argentina, though none in the past 18 months.
Nevertheless, the talent is there and that Brighton were keen on only loaning – and not selling – the youngster hints at how much he is rated. He has a career xG (expected goals) of +1.3, which is far greater than Brenden Aaronson’s -6.1 tally.
When narrowed down to only the past two seasons, this changes to +1.7 and -2.3 respectively. Buonanotte has a shooting accuracy of 35.1%, meaning he directs 3.4% more shots on target than Aaronson, despite sharing an exact average of 0.62 shots per game.
There isn’t much difference when it comes to pass accuracy (80.1% vs 78.9%) but in the final third Buonanotte’s completion rate is 5.8% lower than Aaronson’s 55.2%.
Perhaps importantly, Buonanotte can take a set-piece. In the past two seasons, he has taken 27 corners and 30 free-kicks, compared to Aaronson’s 22 and 13 figures. Interestingly, none of Buonaotte’s free-kicks have been shots at goal but crosses into the box, or short passes. One of his corners led to one of two league assists last season.
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When it comes to take-ons, his percentage is lower than Aaronson, his 45.5% trumping Buonanotte’s 34.1%. And Aaronson also wins more aerial duels too (33% v 31%).
However, this all noting that Aaronson has four years of football on his counterpart. The fact Buonanotte is on a similar level or even beating some of the American’s metrics shows what might lie ahead in future years.
At the same time, Leeds need something in the short and long term. It is easy to see why Buonanotte is of interest. He is also something different from the current right wing options, a more direct and penalty-box driven talent.
However, Leeds may now have to turn their attentions elsewhere as Chelsea have seemingly appeared to hijack their deal for Buonanotte. It is a big blow and does not leave Leeds with much time to react. Buonanotte is not the only attacking player Leeds have missed out on this summer, with Igor Paixao also turning them down in favour of a move to Marseille.
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