Chelsea are set to beat other Premier League clubs to the loan signing of Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton.
The Blues are close to completing the season-long loan signing of the 20-year-old in a deal that does not include an option or an obligation to buy.
There was interest in Buonanotte from other Premier League clubs, including Leeds United.
Brighton have insisted they only want to loan the Argentina international to a club in England.
Borussia Dortmund had made a loan offer for the player with an option, while there was also interest from French outfit Lyon.
Buonanotte would be the latest Brighton player – or member of staff – to make the move to Chelsea since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s takeover at Stamford Bridge in 2022.
Buonanotte would be reunited with former Seagulls team-mates Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro at Stamford Bridge.
The club have also taken a string of staff members, including former boss Graham Potter and recruitment specialists Kyle McAuley, who has since joined Potter at West Ham, and Sam Jewell and Paul Winstanley.
Buonanotte spent last season on loan at Leicester
Including the cost of Potter’s appointment, Chelsea have spent more than £287m on bringing players and staff in from Brighton, with chief executive Paul Barber joking at the club’s fans’ forum recently that Chelsea are his “best customers”.
Chelsea’s pursuit of Buonanotte follows an attempt to sign Julio Enciso by Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg, although that move appears to have stalled due to an injury to the Paraguay international.
Buonanotte has scored five goals in 50 games for Brighton since his arrival from Rosario Central in 2023. He spent last season on loan at Leicester, where he scored six goals in 35 appearances.
He can play on the right flank or at No 10 and would become Chelsea’s ninth signing of the summer transfer window.
