'Wasted season' - Brighton boss speaks out on Facundo Buonanotte Leeds United loan struggles
Regular football at Leeds United has not been forthcoming for the on-loan Brighton man.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has urged Facundo Buonanotte to make the most of his Leeds United loan whether regular football arrives or not.
Buonanotte joined Leeds on loan in January after cutting his Chelsea spell short but has barely featured, with three appearances totalling just 71 minutes. The Argentinian endured a difficult FA Cup showing at Birmingham City last month, was hooked at half-time and hasn’t featured in a Premier League matchday squad since.
Daniel Farke has regularly warned against expecting the 21-year-old to come in cold and ‘cut the world into pieces’ but while being left out of matchday squads his only chance to impress the Leeds boss is in training. And Hurzeler has suggested the onus is on Buonanotte to take ownership of his unideal situation.
“Wasted season, I think it's a little bit tough to say,” the Brighton boss told Sussex World. “I think every experience for players is important, no matter if they play or not.
“Of course, if you give a player a loan, it's always helpful that they play, but in the end we can't make the decision. It's the other clubs who will make the decision and therefore the coach, Daniel Farke, will have a reason why he's not playing, and then it's about the player to understand what he needs to improve to get into the team.
“What value he needs to show in every training session, that he is an option for the coach. And I think that's also a learning process for the player, especially for a young player like Buonanotte.”
Leeds have just nine Premier League games left and at least one FA Cup tie, but Buonanotte’s watching brief against Norwich last weekend suggests regular football won’t be immediately forthcoming. The attacking midfielder at least made the bench but that was it, with Sam Byram preferred as a late introduction.
Premier League about more than talent says Hurzeler
As things stand, a squad space for Buonanotte might only open up through injury but Leeds are in good health. If anything, the Argentinian will only fall further down the pecking order once Noah Okafor returns from a hip problem - which could happen at Crystal Palace, although unlikely.
“I know that he has incredible potential and a lot of talent, but that's not everything in the Premier League,” Hurzeler added. “It's about work ethic, it's about being hard to yourself, it's about suffering if you're not playing, trying to understand and reflect your own behaviour.
“Your own training session, your own performances, and not trying to point fingers on others. Pointing fingers on others is the easiest thing you can do in life, but taking ownership, taking responsibility on your own situation, I think that's something what players need to learn.
“So that's where Facundo is at the moment. And hopefully he gets the right conclusion, the right consequences out of it and we'll get a better player.”