LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JUNE 21 : Leicester City unveil the new manager Steve Cooper at the King Power Stadium on June 21, 2024 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Leicester City are reportedly closing in on the loan signing of Facundo Buonanotte from Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion as boss Steve Cooper eyes a busy end to the summer transfer window.
The Foxes will conclude their pre-season preparations this weekend when they travel to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis to take on Ligue 1 side Lens, and although the new season kicks off the following Monday night against Tottenham Hotspur at the King Power Stadium (8pm), there’ll remain the best part of a fortnight left of the transfer window beyond the curtain raiser.
Buonanotte, reports the Daily Mail, is expected to be the first of a handful of new faces to come through the doors of the club before the end of the month. The Argentine, who is still only 19, has broken into the Argentina squad in the last 12 months and has a couple of caps to his name already.
The Seagulls are reportedly ready to allow the playmaker to leave the club on a loan basis in order to gain more experience and a more regular supply of first-team minutes, and Leicester are set to be the beneficiaries.
Brighton, under new boss Fabian Hürzeler, would be loaning out a player who made 27 Premier League appearances for the club last season under Roberto De Zerbi and scored in games with Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United. Buonanotte signed for Brighton in 2022 from Rosario Central in his native Argentina.
Cooper, who has only arrived himself this summer when replacing the outgoing Enzo Maresca at the helm, is hoping to add a host more first-team players to his ranks as the Foxes prepare for the battle ahead; so far, the club have secured deals for last season’s loanee Abdul Fatawu, free transfer Bobby Decordova-Reid, Caleb Okoli and Michael Golding.
