Tajon Buchanan

[dyslexic nam]

9 minutes ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

What do we prefer: Juve or Napoli?  

Honestly I would be ecstatic with either as long as his prospects of regular playing time are good in the short term.  

[InglewoodJack]

I’ve honestly been a lot less on the Tajon hype train, mostly due to lack of production and the thought that he’d have to show he can produce for Brugge the same as he produced at New England before even thinking of a move up, and if that move came it would be to a team like Espanyol, Celta, Marseille, Bologna, etc. If he’s really being touted by Italian giants, that’s insane. In my mind, he’s got a few years to go at CB before getting on that level, but I will happily allow myself to be proven wrong here.

[El Hombre]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

Honestly I would be ecstatic with either as long as his prospects of regular playing time are good in the short term.  

Same.  If I'm getting greedy, it would also ideally be in an attacking position as opposed to a wingback or something like that.

[kingvikingstad]

I would be happy if he had a Cuadrado-like career in Italy. Obviously would prefer Napoli considering their success this season and young talent that would surround him, but if Juve can get their shit together, that would be massive.

[Obinna]

Juventus were also interested in him while he was at New England, so not surprised they've come back around.

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

I’ve honestly been a lot less on the Tajon hype train, mostly due to lack of production and the thought that he’d have to show he can produce for Brugge the same as he produced at New England before even thinking of a move up, and if that move came it would be to a team like Espanyol, Celta, Marseille, Bologna, etc. If he’s really being touted by Italian giants, that’s insane. In my mind, he’s got a few years to go at CB before getting on that level, but I will happily allow myself to be proven wrong here.

Funny you bring this up, because I had a similar thought when I saw the Napoli link. Specifically I was thinking about how many goals Lozano scored for PSV before making the switch. Buchanan by comparison has done a lot less with a similar level club, which maybe suggests he'd be considered not purely for his scoring, but also for his ability to play as a wingback. 

[InglewoodJack]

6 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Juventus were also interested in him while he was at New England, so not surprised they've come back around.

Funny you bring this up, because I had a similar thought when I saw the Napoli link. Specifically I was thinking about how many goals Lozano scored for PSV before making the switch. Buchanan by comparison has done a lot less with a similar level club, which maybe suggests he'd be considered not purely for his scoring, but also for his ability to play as a wingback. 

Absolutely. He has one goal this season which came in garbage time in his first appearance back, and I think he has 2 total for Brugge. Of course, you look at him play and it's very easy to see that he's extremely talented, he can do things with the ball that not many players can, but at his age, you can expect an uptick in production over the next few years, sure, but he's mostly a finished product, so I wonder what a club like Juve and Napoli expect from him for the 20M or so they'll end up paying for him?

On the other hand though, Brugge is making a deep Champions League run with him in the starting XI. He's currently 9th highest valued player in Belgium- that's pre-World Cup valuation, he will likely be a top 5 most expensive player in the league when the new numbers come out- clearly opinions that matter more than mine value him very highly.

For him, maybe he just needs to play for a better team and allow his playmaking and link up play feed some of the best strikers in the world. Not that he would've made their roster, but watching Tajon feed Brazil's forwards would be so amazing. One stat I would be curious about if such a stat was calculated is how many secondary assists has he scored in Belgium? He's clearly a positive for each of his team's offence, and as it doesn't show up on the stat sheet, curious to see how he affects plays that end up in a goal.

[A_Gagne]

4 hours ago, narduch said:

 

 

would be an awesome spot for him to land!

[Bertuzzi44]

2 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

I’ve honestly been a lot less on the Tajon hype train, mostly due to lack of production and the thought that he’d have to show he can produce for Brugge the same as he produced at New England before even thinking of a move up, and if that move came it would be to a team like Espanyol, Celta, Marseille, Bologna, etc. If he’s really being touted by Italian giants, that’s insane. In my mind, he’s got a few years to go at CB before getting on that level, but I will happily allow myself to be proven wrong here.

As we saw during the World Cup, against top competition, Tajon can be a terror. And I don't think he has hit his ceiling yet, which I am sure these clubs know.

He had a great assist on Davies' goal vs Croatia, and probably should have scored one himself vs Belgium. I am not surprised to see him linked to huge clubs.

 

[Obinna]

I sometimes question if Tajon is actually a better wide forward than Davies is. He's better in tight spaces, I think.

Davies though is a better wingback and the better player overall. 

[dyslexic nam]

Just now, Obinna said:

I sometimes question if Tajon is actually a better wide forward than Davies is. He's better in tight spaces, I think.

Davies though is a better wingback and the better player overall. 

Many, many pages I ago I tossed out the very hot take that Tajon could end up being more important to our team than Davies.  I know this is still an extreme long shot, but with what I have seen lately makes me think the odds of it coming true are better than they were when I said it.  I agree that TB needs to up his productivity in the coming year or two, but there is something about the way he drives at defenders that seems very dangerous.  

[Snowcrash]

5 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I sometimes question if Tajon is actually a better wide forward than Davies is. He's better in tight spaces, I think.

Davies though is a better wingback and the better player overall. 

For Canada, Davies takes way too long to make a play with the ball compared to Buchanan.  Buchanan isn't afraid to take on a player but when the play isn't there, he quickly recycles the ball.  In comparison, way too much hero ball from Davies. 

[Free kick]

I find it odd that his goal production is being questioned given that he is a winger.  Hence, his primary role is to create.  Which he does. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Free kick

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, Free kick said:

I find it odd that his goal production is being questioned given that he is a winger.  Hence, his primary role is to create.  Which he does. 

It's very true, but it's also natural to look at his goal production given he is an attacking player.

I think it's partly the level of club being linked to him as well. If we were talking Leeds or Aston Villa (with all due respect to such teams) I don't think people would be asking about his production as much, but Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan are a massive step from Club Brugge, at least in terms of perception. It's not typical for a winger on that trajectory to only score 2 goals in 22 games. Clearly though, Tajon is not "typical" in many respects. He's a massive talent on the dribble, with lighting pace and ever-growing defensive chops. This is probably why these massive clubs don't care much about his lack of goals.

[CanadaFan123]

28 minutes ago, Snowcrash said:

For Canada, Davies takes way too long to make a play with the ball compared to Buchanan.  Buchanan isn't afraid to take on a player but when the play isn't there, he quickly recycles the ball.  In comparison, way too much hero ball from Davies. 

Exactly this.  Both love to dribble and take risks but Buchanan rarely if ever passes up the play that is best for the team. 

[Bison44]

Cripes, If you told me 5 years ago we would have guys at Bayern, Celtic, Juve, Porto and Lille/where ever David lands...I wouldnt have believed it.  WOW, 1 MLS academy, 2 NCAA, 1 homegrown ottawa and 1 overseas developed.....WOW.  

[Kadenge]

 He's played as a wingback for Brugge. Jutgla, Skov Olsen, Lang and Sowah have been getting mins up front or on the wing. Tajon's been tasked with a  lot of defensive duties for CB. In fact the one game he did play up front he scored. Versatility...can play on both sides and is responsible defensively.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Kadenge

[Unnamed Trialist]

21 minutes ago, Obinna said:

It's very true, but it's also natural to look at his goal production given he is an attacking player.

I think it's partly the level of club being linked to him as well. If we were talking Leeds or Aston Villa (with all due respect to such teams) I don't think people would be asking about his production as much, but Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan are a massive step from Club Brugge, at least in terms of perception. It's not typical for a winger on that trajectory to only score 2 goals in 22 games. Clearly though, Tajon is not "typical" in many respects. He's a massive talent on the dribble, with lighting pace and ever-growing defensive chops. This is probably why these massive clubs don't care much about his lack of goals.

I agree about production, but if you look, a massive talent like Raphinha has 2 goals and 4 assists at Barça in 18 appearances, on a team that scores goals. So an outside player's production is relative. Ferran Torres has 5 in the same no of appearances. 

And Tajon has not been playing wing for Bruges, he's a wingback or even fullback, depending on the match. So while you want him to produce, if he goes to a top league and scored half a dozen he'll have done very well.

[Floortom]

21 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I agree about production, but if you look, a massive talent like Raphinha has 2 goals and 4 assists at Barça in 18 appearances, on a team that scores goals. 

He doesn’t start half of those appearances so 2 goals and 4 assists is actually quite strong.

his advanced stats have him at an outstanding 0.87 npXG + XA per 90 minutes - almost double of what Tajon managed in MLS. 

I don’t see the relevance of Raphinha comparison at all 

[InglewoodJack]

1 hour ago, Free kick said:

I find it odd that his goal production is being questioned given that he is a winger.  Hence, his primary role is to create.  Which he does. 

In general, sure, but we're talking about a player who has a single assist in his Belgian career being sought after by some of the biggest clubs in the world. Comparing his production to a player like Lozano, who he'd effectively be replacing, there's obviously a gap.

UT mentioned Raphinha's production at Barca, yes, however, he's effectively on an all star team, and the season prior, he scored 11 goals, 3 assists at Leeds. Season before that, 6 goals and 9 assists at Leeds and another 1G 2A at Rennes. Same case with Lozano at PSV. 

If they view him as a LWB or CB or whatever, and maybe they'll use him like Bayern uses AD, and then that's a different discussion, but the players he is constantly being compared to, and the expectations people place on him... simply haven't shown up on the stat sheet. Having watched him countless times for Brugge and Canada, we know that numbers aren't even half the story with him, but when it's Italian teams with title prospects, teams that want to return to Champions League glory... that tangible production kinda really does matter.

And FWIW I feel absolutely nasty slandering Tajon, one of our best and most exciting players, and I hope he gets that move, hope he takes a leap, and hope that he is who people think he is.

Edited December 7, 2022 by InglewoodJack

[Stryker911]

I initially thought the top end Italy links were a bit too much for him. However, interesting that all the top Italian teams except Inter are mentioned. He actually profiles very similar to Dumfries from Netherlands/Inter. Tall, athletic, right sided player who can get up and down the field, defensively responsible. He worked his way up the Dutch leagues before 2 solid seasons at PSV, a similar size club as Brugge.

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 minute ago, Floortom said:

He doesn’t start half of those appearances so 2 goals and 4 assists is actually quite strong.

his advanced stats have him at an outstanding 0.87 npXG + XA per 90 minutes - almost double of what Tajon managed in MLS. 

I don’t see the relevance of Raphinha comparison at all 

The relevance of the Raphinha comparison is that outside attackers do not have over the top stats, if they score a few and assist a bit more they can be fine. Even on major clubs. Since it is far easier for such a player to contribute on a team that is dominant and scores readily, those stats would likely be bolstered. 

This responds to those saying Tajon's numbers are weak for such strong clubs to be interested. My answer is that let's not overstate what major clubs expect from their wide players. Even Vinicius could not score if his life depended on it in his first years at Madrid, it was a major running joke. So let's not be harder on Tajon that his prospects will be.

 

[Joe Keeper]

I know Tajon plays well on the wings not least of which is down to his speed. I think he would do very well as a pure forward in a front two. His finishing ability is high quality and he has already played well for us and scored coming in to the box from central positions. Hes too versatile and skilled to be pigeonholed as an outright winger only. 

I would like to see a club play him there too. It would be good for his development and open up more options for his career. 

[Sal333]

5 hours ago, Free kick said:

I find it odd that his goal production is being questioned given that he is a winger.  Hence, his primary role is to create.  Which he does. 

Of which the goal against Croatia is a perfect example!

[Bertuzzi44]

One thing I love about Tajon's game that Davies kinda lacks is his feistiness. 

Talent + drive is a nice combination

[The Beaver 2.0]

20 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Many, many pages I ago I tossed out the very hot take that Tajon could end up being more important to our team than Davies.  I know this is still an extreme long shot, but with what I have seen lately makes me think the odds of it coming true are better than they were when I said it.  I agree that TB needs to up his productivity in the coming year or two, but there is something about the way he drives at defenders that seems very dangerous.  

Maybe not more important than Davies, but certainly equally as important, which is saying a lot really. Tajon might have a better football brain than Davies. He's also a bit older, no? He's a serious kid and is learning the game really quickly. He's still improving, which is exciting to see.

And FWIW, Staq is our most important player.