Brighton sign Argentina wonderkid Facundo Buonanotte for £10m

Brighton & Hove Albion love signing a South American wonderkid – and the latest through the Amex door is 17-year-old Argentine midfielder Facundo Buonanotte.

The Albion have parted with a cool £10 million to secure the services of Buonanotte from Rosario Central, who recently finished the 2022 Primera Division season in 20th place out of 28 teams. Yes, a 28 team top fight. Bonkers.

Despite Rosario Central’s struggles in the league, Buonanotte has shone. His first full campaign as a regular has returned four goals and two assists from 34 appearances and drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi along the way.

Now, you might be thinking you have heard this all before. Remember Cristian Baz and Augustin Batipiedi? Seeing as Brighton have signed a young player from Argentina, WAB are contractually obliged to mention those two starlets brought to England by Gus Poyet in the summer of 2010.

Batipiedi was supposed to be the next Javier Mascherano and Baz the next Messi. Or League One versions of those two Argentinian greats anyway. Turns out that grainy YouTube videos and the South American hype machine were wide of the mark.

Buonanotte has been compared to Messi by a rather more reputable source than somebody watching him score a goal on the internet or a Football Manager obsessive who signed him for Bolton Wanderers and duly won the Champions League.

No lesser judge than Rosario Central manager Carlos Tevez hailed Buonanotte as the next Messi after seeing his side beat Barracas Central 3-1 back in August.

“When he brakes and accelerates he reminds me of Messi,” Tevez said to Rosario3. “I haven’t seen a boy play like that for a long time, that gives me so much pleasure, and I watch a lot of football.

“Facu has a great mentality, he doesn’t seem to be 17 years old. He is at a very high level, one thinks that he has no ceiling, it is wherever he wants to go..”

Facundo Buonanotte comes with the sort of versatility that Brighton value highly in young players. Although mainly deployed by Rosario as a number 10, he has also played on the right, left and as a more traditional central midfielder in his fledgling career so far.

His main attribute would appear to be dribbling the ball, beating players and finding ways out of tight spaces – further explaining those comparisons to Messi.

When used out wide, he likes to cut inside and shoot. His work rate and football intelligence have also been highlighted for their contribution to the aggressive press that Tevez has introduced to Rosario since his appointment as manager in June.

Buonanotte incidentally scored the winning goal to give Tevez his first victory as Rosario boss at the third attempt, a 1-0 success against Sarmiento. A football club presumably not named after Jeremy.

So highly thought of is Buonanotte in Argentina that he has been fast tracked into their Under 20s side. He has made three appearances since his debut in March, scoring once.

Buonanotte is set to move to England when the January transfer window opens, subject to there being no work permit issues. Should he be granted the right to work in the United Kingdom, it remains to be seen whether he links up straight away with Roberto De Zerbi’s first team squad.

Other arrivals from South America have been given time to adjust to life in Europe. Moises Caicedo waited 16 months for his Premier League debut after signing, including a loan spell in Belgium.

Summer signing Julio Enciso made his top flight bow in the 4-1 dismantling of Chelsea at the weekend. Enciso would probably have had to wait longer if Graham Potter was still at the helm; he barely featured even on the bench under Potter.

De Zerbi in contrast chucked on Enciso in a crucial moment for a good 30 minute runout as the new head coach chased his first win. Will De Zerbi be equally willing to give Buonanotte an earlier-than-expected opportunity?

Even though slightly older than Caicedo and Enciso, Alexis Mac Allister still had a three month adjustment period between his arrival in January 2020 and his debut at Wolves in March.

Buonanotte is no stranger to the Mac Allister family – he played alongside Alexis’ brother, Francis, at Rosario. < Insert joke about being left at home with other brother Kevin at Christmas here >

Having previously been linked with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Spurs, Juventus, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, Brighton signing Facundo Buonanotte can be seen as quite a coup.

He has penned a contract through until 2026, meaning that he will be a Chelsea player following a world-record £786 million transfer in the summer of 2024. Rosario will be happy with that, seeing as they have a 20 percent sell on clause.