Premier League outfit Leeds United could be about to battle Serie A giants Inter Milan for Club Brugge ace Tajon Buchana on the back of his eye-catching performances at the Qatar World Cup, Calciomercato say.
Don’t let Canada’s eventual group-stage exit fool you. John Herdman’s plucky North American outfit certainly returned home with their heads held high, the pride at having made such a good account of themselves only tempered by a nagging feeling of ‘what if’?
Ahead of the tournament, all eyes were on Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. By the end of it, however, the likes of Alistair Johnston, Ismael Kone and the aforementioned Buchanan found themselves in high demand.
Johnston joined Celtic in January as a replacement for Josip Juranovic. Watford snapped up Kone for around £7 million. Buchanan, meanwhile, has admirers not only at Elland Road but in the storied corridors of the San Siro too.
Inter, according to Calciomercato, see the silky 24-year-old as a potential replacement for the much-coveted Denzel Dumfries. Buchanan, while a forward by trade, has proven both for club and country that he is more than capable in a swashbuckling wing-back role.
Leeds like Canada’s World Cup star Tajon Buchanan
Leeds tried to sign his former Club Brugge team-mate Charles de Ketelaere in the summer, and could return to a familiar hunting ground for Buchanan. Brugge want £30 million, however, meaning Leeds’ hopes of luring the former New England Revolution ace to West Yorkshire rest on whether relegation can be avoided.
“What an amazing story,” Herdman tells ESPN, Buchanan having played university football as recently as 2018. “His composure and his focus, I think, is born out of an amazing story of resilience.
“What you see on the world stage now is a young, complete player. He’s as committed to his defending responsibilities as he is to his attacking. But I think in both (of Canada’s first two World Cup) games, he had one of those ‘oh wow’ moments. Only the top, top players show those moments at World Cups.
“I think he showed them whether it’s little touches down by the corner or blowing past a player. It’s been terrific.”
‘A great future’
Buchanan has one goal and four assists for Brugge this season. He played a major role as the Belgian giants reached the Champions League knockout stages for the first time.
“Although he was positioned as a right-back, he wasn’t really playing right-back,” recalls Buchanan’s former Revolution coach Bruce Arena (The Athletic). “He’s more, I would say, a midfielder.
“Tajon has qualities to play in a variety of positions out wide. He’s a player with a lot of qualities, both attacking and defending. It certainly spells for a great future for the player.”
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