Villarreal are signing Nathan Saliba, and at this point the Yellow Submarine might as well hang a maple leaf outside the dressing room door. The 22-year-old midfielder becomes the third Canadian at the club, linking up with Tajon Buchanan and Tani Oluwaseyi — all three of whom just shared a pitch at this summer's FIFA World Cup.
The move is confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, so it's happening. Saliba arrives from Anderlecht, where he made 50 appearances and scored five goals in the Belgian Pro League since joining in June 2025. Decent numbers for a player still in his early twenties, but the jump from Belgium to Spain is a real step up, and Villarreal will be watching closely to see how quickly he adjusts.
A World Cup window into what Saliba can do
If you watched Canada's 6-0 demolition of Qatar in group stage play at BC Place, you saw Saliba get on the scoresheet. Three goals in 18 appearances for the national team doesn't jump off the page, but his role in that Canadian setup — one of the more coherent CONCACAF sides in recent memory — showed a midfielder who can operate in structured systems and find moments in big games.
Three seasons in MLS with CF Montreal before the move to Europe gives him a profile that's become increasingly common: North American talent proving himself across the Atlantic before landing somewhere with genuine ambition. Villarreal isn't a Champions League club right now, but they're a consistent LaLiga operator who develop players well.
That said, Villarreal have drawn both their opening games — against Atlético Madrid and Racing Santander — so this isn't a side firing on all cylinders yet. Adding a midfielder with Saliba's profile suggests they're building for the long game rather than patching immediate problems. Those backing Villarreal for a top-half finish will at least see this as a sign of intent. Whether Saliba earns meaningful minutes quickly is another matter entirely.
Three Canadians, one LaLiga club. The World Cup pipeline is officially open.
