The Daily Star is reporting that Manchester City are interested in Club Brugge’s Canadian international Tajon Buchanan, and that if they want to sign him in January it would cost them an incredible £50m. While Club Brugge have done well to get maximum value for their players, getting anywhere near that amount for Buchanan would be beyond Club’s wildest dreams.
Buchanan would certainly suit a Pep Guardiola style of football, given how versatile the 24-year-old is. He can operate as an out an out winger, a full-back or a wide man who can go forward and defend. However, at that price tag, City would be expecting more than the numbers that Buchanan has put up since he joined Club Brugge. Over the summer he was linked with a move to Inter, but terms were never agreed. It was unlikely then that Club were looking for anything close to the £50m mark, with HLN reporting that a deal was being struck for around €15m.
Last summer Club sold one of their hottest prospects in Charles De Ketelaere to AC Milan. According to Transfermarkt the deal was around €36.5m, a record fee for the side. Yet while some who have seen De Ketelaere struggle in Serie A may question that deal, at the time the forward was arguably the sides best player and helped them win the Pro League title. For that record to be broken by Buchanan would be a remarkable coup for the side.
Furthermore, Buchanan is set to leave in the summer. He won’t sign a new deal with the side and Club have agreed that he will be sold in the summer or January, with his current deal running until 2025. Given the context, Club would likely agree to a deal that was nearer to the €15m that was around during the 2023 summer window, with the price unlikely to increase as his contract nears its conclusion.
It was certainly an eyebrow raiser to see the £50m price tag being widely reported in the UK media today, especially when you consider that he has just five goals and 12 assists in 67 games for the club, with only two of those assists coming this season. Buchanan could still be a good squad player that will likely develop under the tutelage of Guardiola, but one would expect a lot more for the price tag being banded around.
