Lee Buchanan.

`The u21 England squad was perhaps somewhat anticipated, not as much as the senior squad but there were a certain buzz as to see who would be in the squad and if there were any exciting fresh faces. The clock strikes 10:30am on the 6th of November and the team is released for the under 21s. As expected, there are big names in the squad - Aaron Ramsdale, Max Aarons, James Justin, Tariq Lamptey, Curtis Jones, Rhian Brewster... but one name stood out to all of us Derby fans.

Lee Buchanan.

The England under 21 squad. Just a step away from the senior international squad at the tender age of 19 with only 17 senior appearances under his belt goes to show just how much potential he carries, Lee Buchanan truly has got the world at his feet.

Born in Mansfield on 7th March, 2001, Buchanan had huge aspirations and they were realised when he joined Derby's academy in 2010, at the age of 9. From there, he has remained with us, quickly progressing throughout the age categories and his career really took off within the space of a couple of years, playing 30 for the under 18s from 2016 until 2019 - interestingly though, he played most games as a centre back (22 games as a left sided centre back) and even was the captain for four games. He played 90 minutes as a left back in that infamous game against Arsenal last year in the final of the u18 Premier League where the under 18s won the title. Surprisingly though, well it shouldn't be surprising, Buchanan made his debut for the u23s in March 2018 having just turned 17 years old weeks before in a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea u23s but over the years, he has progressed and played a total of just 12 games, 8 as a centre back and 4 as a left back before he broke into the first team.

Buchanan was actually pushing to get into the first team back in January 2019, named as one of the subs in a 2-1 home victory over Reading under Frank Lampard, aged 17 but he didn't make his first team debut until 13th August in 2019 under Phillip Cocu, netting the only goal of the game in a win over Scunthorpe in the Carabao Cup. I believe it was this game that really grabbed the attention of us, we realised the ability he carries as he was the stand out performer of the game, constantly driving the ball forwards, attempting risky crosses and passes and actually willingly getting stuck in. To top it off with a goal was just what he deserved, so much.

With the ripple of the net once he had taken a shot from an awkward angle, after a very impressive 40 yard dribble, Buchanan's face lit up and he runs towards the corner, towards the fans and celebrates with them. Little did he know just how fast his career would take off from here. He made his league debut on 24th August, around a week after his cup debut, playing as a left back for the full game against West Brom in a 1-1 draw, and he also played in the 3-0 defeat to Brentford the following week but he was dropped from the squad. Although there is always a pattern of Cocu's management - introduce them into the team, give them a taste of the standard they need to meet, then they go away and work on those weaknesses identified in the first team games before being introduced back into the fold - it has worked for Jason Knight, and I believe that both Louie Sibley and Morgan Whittaker are going through this process too. It has certainly worked for Lee Buchanan. After being dropped, he didn't come into the first team picture for nearly 11 months; the COVID-19 crisis messed things up and delayed things too but he came back in the team in July, funnily enough, against West Brom again. That was the start of a beautiful blossoming of talent.

Since then, Lee Buchanan has played 11 games out of a possible 16, missing one game through injury and four times he was named on the bench but did not play - putting in 110% effort every game and displaying a hard working attitude on a regular basis.

To just look at how well he understands the game, we're going to delve a bit deeper into his recent performance, both defensively and in attack.

This screenshot is from our last game before the international break, a humiliating 2-0 defeat to Barnsley, and here, you can see Buchanan checking if the long ball from Barnsley was offside and also checking if he had anybody to be aware of, maybe their right back would suddenly bomb forwards or something. But in this moment, you can see a fair bit of distance between himself and the lovely Barnsley player.

Upon Barnsley inching closer in attack, Buchanan is comfortable enough to decide that there is no impending threat from that side of the pitch and as loanee Matt Clarke leaves a gap in defence to attend to other defensive duties, Buchanan reduces the gap between himself and the aforementioned Barnsley player, ready to leap into action if he was required to.

Upon Barnsley posing an actual threat once the cross came in, Buchanan quickly closes that gap and uses his pace to get infront of the Barnsley player, just to carry out his defensive duties in case of a rebound off David Marshall or the ball favourably going into the shooting path. Here, we can recognise that he understand and acknowledges any incoming threat and knows how to shut them down quickly - that immediate decision making is present and it is very good for his age already.

Attacking wise, like I mentioned, he's more than happy to get stuck in. I just wanted to include this screenshot from the same Barnsley game just because wow, he won the ball from this position.

Although he stands at just 175cm - 5'7 - he wins the ball comfortably and puts it into the passage of play as last season's top goalscorer Martyn Waghorn arrives in the box, getting himself involved in the game and not being afraid of putting himself in harm's way to win and to keep possession.

He remains in a threatening position, and if only Waghorn passed, Buchanan would have had a chance at goal - Waghorn ended up passing to Jason Knight whom had his eventual shot blocked easily. However, in Buchanan being alert and recognising where best to position himself is evident here.

This screenshot is from the Bournemouth game, where we drew 1-1, two games before Barnsley. Defensively, Buchanan was not quite the same standard as he normally plays, in my opinion, but attacking, he was an useful threat. In this part, Derby launches a quick attack and Buchanan quickly realises that there is a huge pocket of space where he is allowed to make a run, alone.

He arrives in the box at the right time to receive a pass from Duane Holmes, and he quickly creates space for himself, as you can see in the screenshot below, before taking a shot. With his quick decision making and recognition of potential attacking areas as well as having the strength of composure within himself, he is a complete left back/wing back.

He switches feet quickly, which is a very powerful tool to have up your sleeve, and is able to get a shot away quickly - he was just so unfortunate to not score as the shot was cleared off the goal line by Bournemouth's Steve Cook.

This one is difficult for me to explain in words but I'll give it a go! Against Nottingham Forest, five games ago, in this situation - it's always hard for any full back to deal with this, it comes down to decision making and positioning. Now, when faced with this, Buchanan opts to move towards former Derby player and current snake, Cyrus Christie to force Anthony Knockaert to look for alternative options because Buchanan has positioned himself where he can block attacking routes for both Christie and Knockaert. But...

Buchanan quickly switches onto his right foot and is able to block the potential passing passage between Christie and Knockaert, just to certainly cut Christie out of the attacking play and enables himself to focus on Knockaert - quickly putting himself into a more comfortable and possibly a more superior position compared to just seconds before. Knockaert is then pressured to put in a cross from a worse position than he would have preferred to be, leading to a mishit.

With the competence, composure and intellect needed to be an excellent full back already present, although more maturity might be needed, Lee Buchanan is on the right route to be one of the best academy graduates we've had in years. For me, personally, I think a huge no-no in defending is ever getting caught on your weaker foot, as displayed by Andre Wisdom in that game against Cardiff where he was caught on his weaker foot and couldn't get his feet in the right position at the right time, allowing the ball to slip past to lethal goalscorer, Kieffer Moore. Buchanan does not really have a weaker foot, although he prefers his left, and this will come in handy for him in the future and makes himself a more appealing investment for any clubs lurking in the shows, because with him, the amount of playing styles that he can fit with is huge - he can be a very simple full back, whipping in crosses from the left side but he can also cut in with his right foot if needed, he can play as a centre back if you want him to, or as a left back or even as a wing back. The kid can do it all.

Lee Buchanan got called up to the England u19 squad for the first time in October 2019 and has picked up three caps since, then was called up to the u20 squad just last month, gaining his first u20 cap but has already made the step up to the next age category. He might be flying under the radar on the social media scene but all football experts and fans who watch him closely know just how good he can be. I, for one, am so bloody excited to see where his career goes from here.

We will watch with a keen interest as Buchanan potentially makes his debut tonight when England takes on Andorra at 7:30pm or on Tuesday, facing Albania at 7:30pm. Fingers crossed he gets to showcase what he does best on the international stage during this break.

"I personally think I am developing quite well, but I've still got a lot to work on." - Lee Buchanan