Chelsea agree shock deal to sign Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton | OneFootball

Chelsea have made a shocking move in their desperation to provide cover for Cole Palmer.

According to The Athletic, that quest has landed them on familiar turf as the Blues have agreed a deal to sign Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is expected to join on a season-long loan without an optional or mandatory purchase clause.

This is just the latest episode in a chain of transfers between Chelsea and Brighton over the past few years.

Buonanotte has been heavily linked with a move to Leeds United throughout the summer, but their efforts fell apart at the final hurdle.

The newly promoted side had a flight booked for Buonanotte to travel to West Yorkshire. They had already scheduled a medical and were brimming with confidence that it was a done deal.

However, the former Leicester City attacking midfielder never boarded the plane, and within hours, Chelsea stepped in to hijack the transfer.

Chelsea stepped up their interest in Buonanotte after missing out on Xavi Simons.

For over a month, the Blues were considered his most likely destination, with reports also claiming that the Netherlands international only wanted a move to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea needed to offload a couple of players to create space in the squad before submitting an offer to sign Simons, but they couldn’t do so early enough.

That opened the door for Tottenham to swoop in, and they quickly sealed a €60 million (£52m) deal.

Losing out on Simons sent Chelsea back to the drawing board. They have now decided to pursue Buonanotte as a cost-effective alternative and are set to bring him to West London on loan.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are said to be pulling out all the stops to sign Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez.

Reports from Spain claim the Blues have already submitted two offers, but Barca are reluctant to sanction a deal, while the player also wants to fight for his place at his boyhood club.

However, Lopez has only played 45 minutes of La Liga action this season, while Barca are mulling over a deal that could significantly ease the pressure on their strained finances.