Leeds United could see multiple notable names leave the club this summer, even if the Whites do stay in the Premier League.
Willy Gnonto and Ao Tanaka are just a few of the fringe players who will likely attract interest from other clubs due to their lack of gametime at Elland Road this season.
Pascal Struijk is another name who has been linked with a move away, but Leeds look as though they will fight tooth and nail to keep the defender at the club and tie him down to a new contract.
However, one player who almost looks certain to leave Elland Road in the summer may already have his next club lined up, according to reports.
Facundo Buonanotte is attracting interest from abroad
No one would have predicted that after arriving at Leeds on loan in January, Buonanotte would have had so little impact in a United shirt by the time we were in April.
The 21-year-old’s last Leeds appearance came all the way back in February against Birmingham in the FA Cup, where he was hooked at half-time, and Daniel Farke has consistently left him out of matchday squads for Premier League clashes across his time in West Yorkshire.
With Farke clearly not fancying Buonanotte, it looks almost impossible that he could turn his Leeds career around and join the Whites permanently in the summer.
These chances have also seemingly gotten even slimmer, with reports from Argentina claiming Buonanotte could be set to join River Plate in the summer.
According to local journalist Mauro Palacios, when speaking on Picado TV, River Plate’s manager, Eduardo Coudet, is particularly eager to secure Buonanotte’s services.
“River are going to push in the next transfer window for Facundo Buonanotte. He’s 21 years old, and Coudet knows him. He belongs to an English club – Brighton,” Palacios said.
“He’s an attacking midfielder, a different kind of player. He’s a player who has goals in him, someone who can win you a match. If it’s not in the middle of the year, he’s the player Coudet is waiting for at the end of the year.”
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Facundo Buonanotte has a right to be furious at his lack of gametime
From his previous loan spell at Leicester City, where Buonanotte scored five goals and provided two assists in just 1529 Premier League minutes, he proved he is a young player with bags of potential.
Whilst Leeds fans are not clammering for him to start every game, it is puzzling that he cannot seem to even get a meaningful cameo appearance off the bench, especially considering Leeds’ goalscoring troubles as of late.
Furthermore, Brenden Aaronson, who plays a similar position to him, continues to play week in, week out, despite being continually wasteful in the final third.
- Aaronson’s last goal for Leeds was all the way back in January against Newcastle
- His last assist came in December during Leeds’ trip to the Stadium of Light
- Aaronson has gone 12 games for club and country without a goal or assist (Sofascore)
It is clear that Farke has his favourites, and Aaronson is preferred by the German because of the amount of distance he can cover, however if United continue to fail to break teams down, Buonanotte should be allowed to help make a difference for Leeds when they need a goal.
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