'I'm not in his head' - Facundo Buonanotte's Leeds United woes addressed by Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler
Brighton & Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler weighs in on Facundo Buonanotte’s struggle at Leeds United
Brighton & Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler has admitted he does not know exactly why Facundo Buonanotte has struggled for minutes at Leeds United.
The 21-year-old was pursued by Leeds last summer, only for Brighton to loan the Argentina-capped playmaker to Chelsea.
After finding opportunities limited at Stamford Bridge, Buonanotte saw his loan stay in the capital cut short in January, allowing Leeds to finally secure his signature.
He made two Premier League appearances from the bench in the month he signed, but has not been afforded a single league outing since. His only other appearance in Leeds colours came in February’s FA Cup win over Birmingham City, a game in which he was substituted at half-time.
Brighton boss on Facundo Buonanotte’s Leeds United woes
When asked by Sussex World why it had gone wrong for Buonanotte in West Yorkshire, Hurzeler said: "That's a good question, I'm not there, I'm not in his head, I'm not knowing exactly the processes that are going on of course.
“I'm trying to be in touch with our loan managers and trying to understand the situation from the individual players but it's always quite difficult to judge things from outside and to judge things from this end."
Buonanotte’s loan club will host his parent club on Sunday (May 17) and he will not be eligible to feature. However, the reality is that an outing appeared unlikely regardless.
Hurzeler said: "What we will do after the season, we will sit together, we will analyse each situation individually - why the loan wasn't successful, what does the player need to do to improve, how we can help him?
“What is the environment he needs to feel safe, to feel comfortable to perform at his best? That's our responsibility. When the season is done, we will sit together, we will analyse it and try to get the right things out of it."
Facundo Buonanotte’s career to date - and Daniel Farke’s stance
Buonanotte was first sent out by Brighton in 2024, when he linked up with Leicester City on a season-long loan deal. The campaign ended in relegation for the Foxes, but Buonanotte saw plenty of action and weighed in with six goals across 35 appearances.
However, his progress has stalled rather abruptly over the course of the last year. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the Argentine, who is under contract at Brighton until 2028.
In February, when asked about about Buonanotte’s struggle for minutes, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "If we want to bring a player in who makes our starting line-up better straight away, we need to invest £30m, perhaps even £40m in January. This is how far we have come.
"We just like his potential. We like his character a lot. If it works, great – without any risk, without a transfer fee, we have a fantastic player. Otherwise, we use him for the depth in the squad, also to hold the pressure high on the other players. It's not like after one poor performance in the cup, I write him off or I'm unhappy with the loan.
"We have to get rid of this thought that if a Premier League side sends us a player on loan, we have to be grateful and play him. Thank God those times are over."