Facundo Buonanotte Declares Chelsea Transfer a "Great Opportunity" as Deal Gets Done

Facundo Buonanotte has finalized his temporary transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea.

The London club sought an offensive midfielder to provide backup for star player Cole Palmer and had initially expected to acquire Xavi Simons, but ultimately passed on the Dutch player, clearing the way for his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

Fermín López was also on their radar, however the Barcelona playmaker remained committed to staying in Catalonia this summer, leading Chelsea to pursue a safer loan arrangement for Buonanotte instead.

The 20-year-old Argentine, who played the latter portion of last season on loan with Liam Delap at Ipswich Town, has now finalized a temporary move to Stamford Bridge through the end of the 2025–26 campaign.

"I'm delighted to become part of Chelsea," Buonanotte shared with club media. "This represents an incredible chance for me and I'm eager to contribute as much as I can to the team, assist the squad and support the coaching staff."

Chelsea are understood not to have included a permanent signing option in their recent negotiations with Brighton.

Buonanotte represents the concluding signing in what has proven to be an active transfer period for Chelsea. The Blues have previously brought in João Pedro and Delap to strengthen their attack, while Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho and Estêvão have arrived as wing alternatives.

Central midfielder Dário Essugo fulfilled a previously arranged transfer from Sporting CP and Jorrel Hato arrived from Ajax to provide depth at both center-back and left-back positions.

BlueCo, Chelsea's ownership consortium, have consistently targeted Brighton players in recent years and this pattern has continued this summer. Pedro secured a £60 million ($81 million) transfer to London early in the window, while affiliated club Strasbourg have arranged an intricate agreement for another attacking midfielder, Julio Enciso.

Enciso has moved to Strasbourg on a permanent basis but reports suggest the arrangement includes a future move to Chelsea potentially as early as next summer.