Facundo Buonanotte may regret his previous comments after being left out of Chelsea’s Champions League squad for the competition’s league phase.
The Argentinian completed a season-long loan move to Stamford Bridge from Brighton on transfer deadline day, and was expected to serve as back-up for currently injured talisman Cole Palmer.
After appearing set to join Leeds, the Blues intervened at the final hour to steal Buonanotte, paying £2million to secure his services.
This was certainly a move which the 20-year-old welcomed, as he he shared his excitement at the chance to play Champions League football for the first time in his career.
In his first interview as a Chelsea player, Buonanotte said: “It’s a great step in my career.
“I’m really happy to be here and ready to offer as much as I can to the team and the staff. I’m sure it will be a positive season.
“Of course, I’ll get the opportunity to play in the Champions League for the first time, which will be a great challenge.
“I’m really looking forward to this season and hopefully I can help the club to achieve its goals.”
But there was to be a cruel twist of fate for the youngster, when the Blues announced their squad for the competition two days later.
To the surprise of many, Buonanotte was not among the 23-man UEFA A list to of players registered for their league phase fixtures.
Regulations restrict Champions League squads to 25 senior players on their main ‘A list’, leaving Enzo Maresca with some tough choices.
This was made more difficult by the rule that at least eight places must be reserved for locally-trained or homegrown players.
Enzo Maresca had to whittle down his 32-man first-team squadGetty GettyThe Italian included Levi Colwill in his European squad, despite the defender not expected to return from injury until 2026[/caption]There is a separate ‘B list’ – where players born after January 1, 2003 who have been at the club for more than two years can be added freely.
While this allowed for youngsters Romeo Lavia, Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong to make the squad, but not Buonanotte.
As a result, Maresca was left to make the brutal call, with the two-cap Argentina international missing the cut in devastating fashion.
To rub salt in the wounds, seven of Chelsea’s other summer signings were registered for their first eight European games.
Among the Blues’ new boys to make the cut were Joao Pedro, Estevao Willian, Jorrel Hato, Dario Essugo, Jamie Gittens, and Alejandro Garnacho.
Meanwhile, £30m new recruit Liam Delap was also included, despite being ruled out for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury sustained against Fulham on Saturday.
GettyBuonanotte has made 40 Premier League appearances for Brighton, scoring four times[/caption]Even more surprisingly, Levi Colwill, who is set to miss the majority of the season with an ACL injury, was also named on the A list.
Despite the early setback in his Blues career, there is still a chance for Buonanotte to feature in this season’s Champions League.
Ahead of the knockout stage, clubs that make it through the league phase can register a maximum of three new players by 11pm on February 5, 2025.
The Brighton loanee will therefore be hoping his new club can make it through their league phase fixtures.
Chelsea kick their Champions League campaign away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday 17.
The Blues’ will then continue their league phase campaign with fixtures against Benfica, Ajax, Qarabag, Barcelona, Atalanta, Pafos, Napoli.
Chelsea Champions League squad
Chelsea List A:
Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen
Defenders: Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Jorrel Hato
Midfielders: Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Dario Essugo, Andrey Santos, Estevao, Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto
Attackers: Liam Delap,, Joao Pedro, Marc Guiu
List B: Tyrique George, Romeo Lavia, Josh Acheampong.
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