Brighton have one of the best collections of wonderkids in all of world football. The Seagulls had six Golden Boy nominees last season. No other club had more than four players nominated.
One of the jewels in Brighton’s stable is Facundo Buonanotte. The 19-year-old Rosario Central academy graduate is already a full Argentine international and has been a regular rotation player for Brighton in the Premier League. Despite this, the club are reportedly open to letting him go this summer.
According to 1908.nl, a top Dutch outlet, Feyenoord have made a bid to bring Buonanotte in on loan. Other outlets have reported that the Eredivisie club are pushing for there to be a reasonable buy-option in the loan deal.
What “reasonable” means is unclear. Whatever the price though, Brighton should not be selling Facundo Buonanotte.
In a squad full of extremely technical players, such as Pascal Gross and Kaoru Mitoma, Buonanotte has at times looked better on the ball than all of them. He’s very good in tight spaces and at getting off passes from awkward positions.
Like Julio Enciso, he’s also a threat to score long-range goals. Simply put, Buonanotte has shown that he has the ability to be a truly game-changing attacking midfielder.
Buonanotte’s only weakness so far has been his physicality. He isn’t strong enough to keep the ball against better Premier League sides. His lack of pace was also a major issue last season when he was forced to play out of position on the right wing. These are not good enough reasons to give up on a 19-year-old.
A loan to Feyenoord is smart for Buonanotte at this point in his career. Playing in a lower-paced league with less pressure could help him reach the next level of his game. More importantly, Buonanotte would get game time.
He hasn’t had the chance to play any meaningful minutes in preferred position for Brighton so far. A loan to Feyenoord would give him that opportunity.
Since we have not seen what Buonanotte can do, selling him does not make sense. Giving up on Buonanotte before giving him a full season of European football to his quality would be a massive mistake.
The 19-year-old could end up a flop, but it’s too early to say that now. Brighton should loan him to Feyenoord and reassess his place in the squad next season.
