Leeds United have earned four points from their opening three Premier League games and have made a solid start to the season. However, their failures towards the end of the summer transfer window have overshadowed their on-pitch work.
Daniel Farke wanted to bring in two more forwards before the transfer window closed, apart from the 10 players Leeds signed for more than £100m. However, the club had a nightmarish end to the window, missing out on at least two players they thought were set to move to Elland Road.
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The deadline day drama that led to the deal for Fulham winger Harry Wilson collapsing with minutes left in the window has already been addressed by Leeds managing director Robbie Evans, who provided some details of what led to the major transfer disappointment on Monday night.
However, the events of Monday have overshadowed the fact that Leeds missed out on Facundo Buonanotte, who had a last-minute change of heart and snubbed Leeds in favour of joining Chelsea on loan from Brighton towards the end of last week.
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Facundo Buonanotte rejected Leeds United, and now he is not in Chelsea’s Champions League squad
The 20-year-old playmaker’s decision to snub Leeds in favour of Chelsea surprised many, given the number of wingers and attacking midfielders at Stamford Bridge.
The Whites were also left shocked, as they thought they had a deal in place with Brighton, and a flight had been booked for him to travel to Yorkshire to complete the loan move.
However, Buonanotte headed towards Stamford Bridge and is now a Chelsea player for this season, given the terms of the loan agreement with Brighton.
But he has already faced a setback in West London as the Argentinian has been left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the league phase.
New boy Alejandro Garnacho is in the Chelsea squad, but Buonanotte didn’t find a place in the 23-man squad that the Blues have announced.
There are also several doubts about how many minutes he will receive in the Premier League, given the quality ahead of him in the Chelsea squad.
The Buonanotte collapse affected Leeds badly
Leeds thought the arrival of Buonanotte would be their last signing of the summer and provide Farke wth the versatile attacking midfielder he wanted.
However, his decision to move to Chelsea really scrambled plans at Elland Road, which led to the disastrous end to the summer transfer window.
Wilson only became a top target for Leeds once they missed out on the Argentinian, and ultimately, Fulham’s whims and fancies controlled the end of the window for Leeds.
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