Inter, Villareal agree on transfer fee for Canadian Buchanan
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Inter Milan and Villarreal have agreed on a fee for Tajon Buchanan, sources tell TSN. The fee is based on the numbers first reported by Fabrizio Romano, $14.4 million CAD to Inter Milan with the Serie A club receiving 20% of any future sale.
Buchanan will fly to Spain on Sunday to complete his medical, and will already be familiar with his surroundings. Inter loaned Buchanan to Villarreal this winter, and the Brampton-native already has 13 La Liga appearances, and a game-winning goal against eventual La Liga champions Barcelona back in May.
Despite reported interest from Brentford in the English Premier League, Roma and Sassuolo in Serie A, and PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie, TSN learned Buchanan wanted to return to Villarreal to build on the second half of last season. Villarreal finished fifth in Spain and qualified for this season's UEFA Champions League.
And in his brief few months in Spain, Buchanan appeared to adapt to La Liga quickly. He started against Real Madrid in March, and though he would deal with ankle issues, Buchanan featured consistently on Villarreal's right side. He has also apparently developed a good working relationship with Villarreal head coach Marcelino.
"I found my joy for football again," Buchanan said when he met the Canadian media in June following his loan. "That helped me get back to the way I know I can play."
Canada immediately benefited from Buchanan's rejuvenated form. He made six appearances across the Canadian Shield and Gold Cup this June, scoring four goals and adding an assist.
Part of the reason Buchanan is now moving on from Inter Milan is he never found any kind of form at Inter because he just didn't play often enough. But Inter initially appeared invested in Buchanan.
After pursuing Buchanan for years, Inter paid $8 million to Club Brugge to make Buchanan the first Canadian to be transferred to Serie A. In his first few months, Buchanan made 10 substitute appearances and scored and won a Serie A winners medal. But Buchanan's longest appearance from the bench was 21 minutes.
Buchanan's broken leg during last summer's Copa América ended any chance to start last season strong. He wouldn't get back on the field until November, and then after had to fight to unseat Inter's starters on either wing, Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco. After six more substitute appearances by January, Inter agreed to loan Buchanan to Villarreal in January for $1.5 million.
Buchanan's time at Inter ends with 17 appearances, his lone start coming in the Coppa Italia. Although his European club career now appears to be getting a fresh start, Buchanan's brief time playing for one of Italy's biggest clubs was disappointing.
He is now set to stay in a top European league he is already familiar with and will likely feature in this season's UEFA Champions League. With less than a year to go before the World Cup, it's an opportunity that could be massively beneficial for Buchanan and Canada.