Perhaps Everton could find their replacement for Richarlison in the most unlikely of places with Ben Brereton Diaz. Like the Brazilian, who departed Goodison Park for Tottenham Hotspur in a £60million deal earlier this summer, Brereton Diaz is a South American international who can operate both on the left wing and at centre-forward.
However, while Richarlison came to the Premier League straight from Rio de Janeiro, home of Copacabana Beach and carnival, Brereton Diaz plays for Blackburn Rovers and originally hails from Stoke-on-Trent. Between the ages of seven to 14, he was part of Manchester United’s youth system but after a spell with local club Stoke City, he made his breakthrough in the senior game at Nottingham Forest.
Originally moving to Ewood Park on loan, he made a £7million permanent switch to Blackburn Rovers in January 2019. The son of Martin Brereton, a policeman who was an amateur footballer in the Potteries and District Sunday League, Brereton Diaz – who started using the Spanish language custom of adding his mother Andrea’s maiden name after switching his international allegiance to Chile (she was born in the Chilean city of Concepcion) last year after previously representing England at Under-19s and U20s level.
