Inter Reportedly Sending Youngster to Villarreal | OneFootball

After agreeing to loan Tomas Palacios to Monza, Inter will part ways with Tajon Buchanan too, as Villarreal have overtaken all the other suitors. The formula will be the same but with an option to buy, Relevo’s Mattia Moretto informs. The Nerazzurri eventually changed their mind, as they planned to keep him for depth purposes.

The former Talleres defender will replace Pablo Mari, who has joined Fiorentina, reuniting with Raffaele Palladino. The Nerazzurri paid €6.5M to acquire him, plus €4.5M potential add-ons.

Inter won’t replace Palacios given his minuscule role, but things might be different for Buchanan. He hasn’t starred much, also because of an early leg fracture, but his presence and versatility help the rotation, allowing the boss to use Matteo Darmian and Carlos Augusto in the back while still having a deputy on both wings.

Torino, Fiorentina, and Monza had shown interest in the 25-year-old in the last few days. Villarreal eventually won the race. They’ll nab Napoli’s Rafa Marin too.

The Nerazzurri won’t lose a regular but won’t achieve their goal of not touching their squad in January. They are mulling Nicola Zalewski as a replacement, even though the Davide Frattesi deal is a no-go.

Our Take on Inter, Palacios, and Buchanan

They were very stubborn with their plan not to do anything, but evidently, the pressure from the two players, who obviously wish to feature regularly, was too intense to resist. They could have been fine with losing one, especially the former, who was a non-factor, but the double departure should lead to a late addition. A center-back would be more useful than a wing player given Francesco Acerbi’s lingering injury issues.