Leeds United have received a major blow in the transfer market as Fabrizio Romano suggested that Chelsea could gazump them in their pursuit of a forward player.
Leeds have been linked with a string of attacking talent this summer, but to date have only added Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor to their strike force.
Facundo Buonanotte looked to be closing in on a move to Elland Road as Daniel Farke looks to add a versatile forward to his forward line.
However, according to Romano, their Premier League rivals, Chelsea, could be set to steal the Argentinian forward out from under Leeds’ noses with a late bid for the talented forward.
Daniel Farke during Arsenal v Leeds United - Premier League
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Chelsea enter the race to sign Leeds United target
Writing in a post on the social media site X (formerly Twitter), Romano confirmed that Chelsea were now leading contenders to sign Buonanotte from the Seagulls.
According to Romano, they are not the only club set to rival Leeds, with Borussia Dortmund also in the running. Romano said: “Chelsea are working on a deal to sign Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton.
“Negotiations are underway with Brighton for Argentine talent in the list of several clubs in the UK, Borussia Dortmund and more. Deal on.”
🚨💣 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. 🔵🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/x4u7b4rX2h
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 29, 2025
View Tweet
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
A subsequent post from journalist Ben Jacobs added that the deal could see Buonanotte replacing Leeds target Dilane Bakwa as Chelsea’s BlueCo stablemates, Strasbourg, in a post which states: “Understand interest in Facundo Buonanotte (as called by Fabrizio Romano) is for BlueCo. Talks with Strasbourg and Chelsea in mind.”
The news will come as a hammer blow for Leeds, who are now short of options in the market with just days to go before the transfer window closes.
Leeds United set to miss out after dramatic U-turn
Leeds looked set to complete the capture of Buonanotte yesterday (28th August) as reports suggested that he would travel to Yorkshire to seal his transfer.
However, news that Buonanotte had cancelled his flight was the first sign of trouble as Leeds’ summer of woe in the transfer market continues.
Having missed out on a deal for Igor Paixao in similar circumstances, the news that Buonanotte looks likely to move to West London is a hammer blow to their plans.
Farke and Leeds’ recruitment team must now move quickly to find another target. After demoralising performances against Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday, this is not the news that Farke wanted to end the week.