Facundo Buonanotte has looked out of place at Leeds United since he joined the club on loan from Brighton in the winter transfer window.
Leeds hammered Norwich City 3-0 in an FA Cup clash that saw a few squad players getting a chance to start and impress Daniel Farke at Elland Road earlier today.
However, Buonanotte remained on the bench and didn’t even get a chance to come on for a few minutes when Leeds were 3-0 up and cruising towards the end.
An off-camera moment from the Whites bench, captured by Yorkshire Evening Post journalist and Leeds insider Graham Smyth, summed up Buonanotte’s time so far at Elland Road.
Facundo Buonanotte looked lost on the Leeds bench
Buonanotte has not made a league appearance for Leeds since the end of January, and has not made the matchday squad in four of the last five league games.
He was in the squad for the FA Cup clash today, but was not in the starting eleven. There were expectations that he would come on later in the game against Norwich.
The Argentinian was warming up in the second half in expectation of coming on, but the moment never came.
Smyth revealed that Buonanotte was constantly looking at the dugout while warming up down the touchline for a signal to get ready to play.
However, the final substitution was Sam Byram replacing Gabriel Gudmundsson at left-back as the Swede left the pitch to a standing ovation.
The January signing was again left on the bench as an unused substitute as Leeds romped to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
He is almost certain not to be in the squad when Leeds travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace next Sunday.
Leeds will not sign him on a permanent deal
There was plenty of talk in January suggesting Leeds would be open to signing the winger permanently once his loan move was completed.
Brighton are believed to want a fee of around £20 million before considering a sale in the summer, but at the moment, that deal appears to be going nowhere.
Leeds are expected to have funds available once Premier League safety is secured, yet it seems unlikely they will spend that kind of money on Buonanotte during the summer transfer window.
Since arriving at the club, he has struggled to even make the matchday squads regularly, which suggests Daniel Farke has not seen anything particularly outstanding from him in training so far.
As things stand, Buonanotte looks almost certain to head back to Brighton when his loan spell with Leeds comes to an end in the summer.
