Tajon Trevor Buchanan (born February 8, 1999) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

, on loan from

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, and the Canada national team. Known for his speed and technical ability, he usually plays as a

wide midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, but can also be deployed as a full-back and a winger.

Club career

Early career

Buchanan was born and raised in

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and is of Jamaican descent. His father died when Buchanan was seven years old. He began playing soccer with Brampton Youth, when he was eight. Buchanan won the 2014 IMG Cup with the Mississauga Falcons. At age 15, he moved with his best friend and his best friend's father (and his former coach), Chrys Chrysanthou, to Colorado where he joined the

USSDA The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league featured youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

academy Real Colorado. Buchanan spent two years playing

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

between 2017 and 2018, making 33 appearances, scoring 12 goals and tallying six assists. After two years with the Orange, Buchanan left early and signed a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

ahead of the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

. In summer 2018, Buchanan played for

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

side

Sigma FC Sigma Sports is a Canadian youth soccer development academy and player management company based in Mississauga, Ontario. They also operate a senior academy soccer team that currently competes in League1 Ontario, as Sigma FC. Over 140 Sigma playe ...

, making seven appearances and scoring two goals.

New England Revolution

On January 11, 2019, Buchanan was selected ninth overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

. He made his professional debut on March 9, 2019, as an 81st-minute substitute during a 2–0 loss to

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

. On November 24, 2020, he scored his first MLS Cup playoffs goal, scoring the second and final goal in a 2–0 win over the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. On July 3, 2021 Buchanan scored the first goal in the history of

Lower.com Field Lower.com Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It serves primarily as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, replacing the club's previous home, Historic Crew Stadium. The new stadium cost $ ...

, in the Revolution's 2-2 draw against

. During the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, Buchanan's continued good form for the Revolution earned him a nomination to the MLS squad for the

2021 MLS All-Star Game The 2021 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 25th edition of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game, an exhibition soccer match in the United States. The game, featuring the MLS All-Stars taking on the Liga MX All-Stars, was played ...

in August 2021.

Club Brugge

In August 2021, Buchanan signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

champions

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

. Buchanan was loaned back to New England Revolution for the remainder of the 2021 MLS season. The $7 million transfer fee (with a 10% sell-on clause) paid by Club Brugge was a club-record received by the Revolution for one of their players. He made his debut for Brugge against

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

on January 15, 2022. Buchanan scored his first goal for Brugge on April 24 against

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

Inter Milan

On January 5, 2024, Buchanan officially joined

club

for a reported fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

7 million, plus €3 million in add-ons, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Italian club. In the process, he became Serie A's first ever Canadian player. Buchanan made his debut for his new club on February 16, as a substitute for

Alessandro Bastoni Alessandro Bastoni (born 13 April 1999) is an Italian professional footballer who plays primarily as a centre-back for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Italy national team. Considered one of the best centre-backs in the world, he is best known ...

in a 4–0 victory over

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

. On 10 May 2024, Buchanan scored his first goal for Inter, scoring the third goal in a 5–0 victory against

Frosinone Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...

Loan to Villarreal

On February 1, 2025, Buchanan joined

in Spain on loan with an option to buy.

International career

Youth

Buchanan was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the

2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fifteenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted association footbal ...

on February 26, 2020. A year later, he was named to the final squad for the rescheduled tournament on March 10, 2021. In Canada's opening match, Buchanan scored a brace in a 2–0 victory over

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. He was named the 2020 Canada Soccer Youth International Player of the Year.

Senior

Buchanan accepted an invite for the Canada senior national team camp for January 2021. Buchanan was called up in June 2021 for the coming World Cup qualification matches against

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

and

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, and subsequently made his senior-team debut against Aruba, setting up two goals in a 7–0 victory. On June 18, Buchanan was named to Canada's 60-man preliminary squad for the

2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean regions organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was ...

. On July 1 he was called up to the final 23-man squad. He scored his first goal for the senior team on July 29 against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the semi-final stage of the Gold Cup, netting the equalizer in an eventual 2–1 defeat. Buchanan's play at the tournament was widely praised by the region's media and at the conclusion of the competition he was named as the recipient of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Best Young Player Award. In November 2022, Buchanan was named to Canada's squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. In Canada's second match on November 27 against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, the team scored their first ever goal at a men's World Cup, with Buchanan sending in a cross that was met by the head of

Alphonso Davies Alphonso Boyle Davies (born November 2, 2000) is a professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for club Bayern Munich and captains the Canada national team. Regarded as one of the best full-backs in the world, Davies has earned the nic ...

and sent into the back of the net. In June 2023, Buchanan was named to the 23-man squad for Canada ahead of the

2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals The 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League, 2022–23 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the second season of the international Association football, football competition involvi ...

. In June 2024, Buchanan was named to the Canadian squad for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

. After Canada advanced to the knockout phase, Buchanan would suffer a broken tibia while training for the quarterfinal match against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and would undergo surgery to repair the fracture.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Buchanan goal.''

Honours

New England Revolution *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Club Brugge *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

: 2021–22, 2023-24 Inter Milan *

: 2023–24 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Canada *

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

runner-up:

Individual *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

Best XI:

Young Player Award:

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

* Canadian Youth International Player of the Year: 2020

References

External links

Tajon Buchanan
at the Club Brugge KN website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Tajon 1999 births Living people Black Canadian men's soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football wingers Syracuse Orange men's soccer players New England Revolution draft picks New England Revolution players League1 Ontario players Major League Soccer players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2024 Copa América players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Sigma FC players Club Brugge KV players Inter Milan players Villarreal CF players Belgian Pro League players Soccer players from Brampton Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain 21st-century Canadian sportsmen