Tajon Buchanan of the New England Revolution has always dreamed above his move to Europe, but he knows that the job is not done yet. His teammates are excited for his bright future as well, but there’s still a clear task at hand in 2021.
“There’s a clear mindset in this group right now that we wanna win,” Buchanan told the media on Thursday. “This is my last year here so I’m trying to win everything possible – Supporters’ Shield, Eastern Conference and MLS Cup.”
The Revs are winning, but there’s still a long way to go for Buchanan and his teammates. There’s still twelve games to go, plenty of time to falter, especially under some of the upcoming circumstances. Adam Buksa, Buchanan, and Matt Turner are called into the respective national teams, while injuries continue to plague the team as well. It seems that eventually it could all come crashing down, at least until Carles Gil, Matt Polster, Brandon Bye, and the national team call-ups return to play. Despite the situation at hand, Buchanan is headed to a team that has developed some real players, and he may become the next.
“Brugge is known for developing young players and moving them on to even bigger clubs and Brugge is also in the Champions League,” Revs manager Bruce Arena added. “So when he goes there in January, he’ll be stepping into a team that’s in Champions League and that’s a great opportunity for a young player like Tajon. And I think the Belgian League is a nice fit for him as well. And if he can get acclimated into that league, you never know where he’s headed next.”
The 10% sell-on clause is a good bit of business from Arena and his front office, because while the transfer fee may be lower than other offers, it could bring in a couple million dollars in the future. If the forward was headed to the Premier League or Bundesliga at a price of $30,000, New England would have then made ten million off his transfer, rather than seven. Bruce believes in Club Brugge’s ability to develop him and sell him to an even larger European club in two to three years.
“Every kid dreams of playing in the Champions League,” Buchanan said. “Even the Europa League, just European competition. That’s a huge goal of mine, I’m super excited about that.”
Tajon Buchanan and his dreams of playing in the Champions League will likely be put to a halt for now, as Brugge would need to survive the group stage in order for him to play in this year’s edition. Their group consists of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Red Bull Leipzig.
In likely the best case scenario, Brugge could salvage third place to have a chance at the Europa League, which Buchanan would be a part of in 2022. Though, as previously mentioned, Tajon’s dreams and future aren’t at the front of his mind. He will be suspended for the massive matchup against NYCFC on Saturday at Yankee Stadium as a result of missing the MLS All-Star Game, but he will refocus his attention to the first place New England Revolution nevertheless.