Canadian international winger Tajon Buchanan made his loan move to Villarreal CF permanent Tuesday, signing a five-year contract with the Spanish club.
The 26-year-old from Brampton, Ont., joined Villarreal on Feb. 1 from Italy’s Inter Milan on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent.
Buchanan joined Inter in January 2024 from Belgium’s Club Brugge but found playing time hard to get in the star-studded squad with 17 appearances in total. A broken leg suffered in training with Canada at last year's Copa America did not help.
Still Buchanan made history as the first Canadian goal-scorer in Serie A when he scored off the bench in May 2024 in a 5-0 win over Frosinone.
The permanent move should help Buchanan get playing time ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The elusive winger has already made 13 appearances for Villarreal, scoring one goal and adding two assists.
Villarreal, which plays at the 23,00-capacity Estadio de la Ceramica, finished fifth in the 20-team Spanish top tier last season at 20-8-10.
"I just really enjoyed my football last season and really felt a part of this team. And I want to be part of it moving forward," said Buchanan.
"It's an amazing club," he added. "It's a club that's going back to the Champions League, I think a club that deserves to be playing in the Champions League."
Founded in 1923, the team is known as the Yellow Submarine because of its yellow home kit. The Spanish side won the Europa League in May 2021 in dramatic fashion, defeating Manchester United 11-10 in a penalty shootout after the two teams drew 1-1.
Fellow Canadian Cyle Larin (Mallorca) also plays his club football in La Liga.
Buchanan underwent surgery in July 2024 to repair a fractured tibia, returning to the Canada squad last November for its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
A member of Canada’s 2022 World Cup squad, Buchanan has made 51 appearances (including 36 starts) for Canada with eight goals and seven assists. When healthy, he is a key part of Jesse Marsch's squad.
Buchanan was taken in the first round (ninth overall) by the New England Revolution in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.
He was runner-up to FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi as the 2021 MLS Young Player of the Year after finishing with career highs in games played (27), starts (19), goals (eight), and assists (five) in his third MLS season.
Buchanan, named best young player at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, joined Belgian champion Club Brugge after the 2021 season. He made 50 regular-season appearances for New England with 10 goals and nine assists.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
