Lee Buchanan joined Blues from Werder Bremen for an undisclosed fee in July 2023, signing a five-year contract.

The defender had spent one season in Germany, making 23 appearances and scoring on just his third Bundesliga outing during a 2-3 win over Borussia Dortmund in August 2022. Such efforts saw him named Bundesliga Rookie of the Month.

Prior to his time with Bremen, he had been on the books of Derby County since 2015 and earned a scholarship two years later, going on to impress hugely in a group that included Jason Knight and Morgan Whittaker and beat Manchester United in a 2017 FA Youth Cup tie at Pride Park.

This collection of players went on to win the 2019 Under-18 Premier League title, with Buchanan playing the full 90 minutes of a 5-2 final win over an Arsenal team that featured Bukayo Saka on the flank.

Buchanan’s development also included a number of outings for the Rams’ Under-23s and with this strong foundation, in August 2019, under the management of Phillip Cocu, he made his professional bow away to Scunthorpe United during Round One of the Carabao Cup. At Glanford Park, he lined up alongside fellow debutant Krystian Bielik and scored the winning goal just over a month on from signing his first professional contract.

When he left Pride Park for Die Werderaner in July 2022, the left-back had played 75 times in professional football for Derby, who received full training compensation entitlement under FIFA Regulations for his departure.

He has represented England at youth level, turning out twice for England Under-21s against Andorra and Albania in November 2020.