Chelsea 'close to hijacking Leeds' and sealing Joao Pedro transfer repeat

Chelsea have reportedly opened talks with Brighton over a deal for Facundo Buonanotte. The winger was expected to leave the Seagulls to join Leeds United on loan, but Enzo Maresca's side have now entered the race to secure his signature.

The Blues have splashed the cash on attacking reinforcements already this summer, with Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens all arriving at Stamford Bridge - and Alejandro Garnacho expected to put pen to paper on a lengthy deal with the club imminently as well.

But Maresca's attacking overhaul appears to be far from complete. According to The Athletic, Chelsea are closing in on a deal to sign Buonanotte from Brighton on loan.

Leeds were previously in pole position to acquire the services of the Argentine, but the deal has since collapsed after the Blues emerged on the scene. Daniel Farke's side had a flight booked for Buonanotte to travel to West Yorkshire on Thursday afternoon so that he could complete the switch, but the forward never boarded the plane.

Buonanotte has been the subject of plenty of transfer interest this summer, with Borussia Dortmund making a number of attempts to sign him on a loan-to-buy basis. However, Brighton rejected those approaches as they were keen to keep the versatile forward in the Premier League.

The Seagulls insisted that Buonanotte must stay in England as another campaign in the top-flight would ensure that he becomes homegrown from January, hence their willingness to negotiate with both Leeds and Chelsea.

The Blues have completed a number of deals with Brighton over the years, with Joao Pedro joining the club from the Amex Stadium outfit as recently as earlier this summer. Moises Caicedo, Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella also remain key players for Chelsea, having put themselves on the map previously with Brighton.

Talks are also ongoing between the clubs over another potential switch, with Julio Enciso set to leave Brighton after falling out of favour under Fabian Hurzeler. Negotiations are said to be ongoing over a deal which would see the Paraguay international head to Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg this season, with the view of then heading to Stamford Bridge in 12 months' time. An agreement is in place for Enciso to head to the Ligue 1 outfit, but some final medical tests are being reviewed before the move is greenlighted.