As reported by several sources including SkySport Italia and Italian journalists Fabrizio Romano and Matteo Moretto, Tajon Buchanan is ‘one step away’ from joining Inter this January.
Inter have reached an agreement with Buchanan’s current club, Club Brugge, in a permanent deal worth €7M + €2-3M in bonuses. All that remains to be finalized is the last contractual details, as well as the salary (which has been reported to be a 4-year deal worth €1.6M/yr). Inter want Buchanan to arrive in the first days of January, likely Wednesday, January 3, and be available to Simone Inzaghi immediately.
Following Juan Cuadrado’s recurring Achilles Tendon issues and eventual decision to undergo surgery, Tajon Buchanan has always been Inter’s top priority replacement. The Canadian wing-back will provide characteristics that have not been found in the Inter squad for several years, having been a winger for most of his career and recently been converted to a fullback/wing-back with Brugge.
Tajon Buchanan, although being signed as a direct replacement for Juan Cuadrado at right wing-back, is known to be tactically versatile. As previously mentioned, he began his career as an attacking-minded winger with pace and flare, but has mostly played as a right fullback/wing-back in a back-4 or 5-man midfield in Belgium, able to play on the left and even being deployed in the midfield at times.
I’ve never seen Buchanan play, but I’ve been reading reports that Ausilio and Marotta were tracking him for over a year before pulling the trigger, so I’m sure they’ve done the homework. A smart call to make this move now instead of the summer, especially with the number of injuries we’ve had this fall.
For what it’s worth, since Dumfries and Pavard are back, and Bisseck is playing well at RCB, I expect Inzaghi will as usual take his time in giving Buchanan regular appearances so he has time to understand the tactical system better. My guess is that Dumfries and Darmian would alternate at RWB, while Pavard and Bisseck would alternate at RCB for a while before we see Buchanan break in.