By Pranav Shahaney

27th Aug, 2022 | 9:48pm

Brighton want to sign Argentina teenager Facundo Buonanotte - The Athletic

Brighton and Hove Albion are reportedly interested in signing the highly rated Argentine attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte.

The 17-year-old is currently plying his trade in his home country playing regular first-team football for Rosario Central.

It has been reported that Brighton are willing to pay in excess of £3million for his services, but it’s understood by The Athletic that any deal to sign him will be at a lower figure.

Make sense

The teenager who has been capped by Argentina at the under-20 level is already playing regular first-team football for the Argentine club and has already made 22 appearances in 2022.

Brighton are known to have a quality scouting network, that’s not just in Europe but also on different continents.

Should they secure the services of this player, they would probably see him as not just one who can break into the first team soon, but also a player whose value could possibly increase by tenfold in the next three or four years.

The Seagulls have made it their transfer policy to find talented players who are unnoticed by the top clubs in Europe and then their fantastic academy system coaches them and makes them first-team ready for clubs playing in the top leagues.

While it wasn’t their scouting system in South America that helped them find Marc Cucurella, they knew that when they were signing him, he was undervalued by his club in Spain.

Getafe did not mind letting him go for a small transfer fee and within a year he became Brighton’s most expensive sale of all time.

Buonanotte appears to be highly recommended by the scouts at the club so it does make sense to pursue a move for him.

In other Brighton news, they’re aiming to beat Everton in the race to sign Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour.