Another day, another new striker linked with Everton. But in the case of Ben Brereton Diaz, this one seems to make sense.
The Blackburn Rovers talisman is very much a forward on the up - for both club and country. He was the third top scorer in the Championship last season with 22 goals and he has continued where he left off with two in his first four appearances this season. And the 23-year-old has become a star on the international scene too after swapping allegiances from England to Chile, the birthplace of his mum, and having scored four goals in his first 15 caps for La Roja.
If that wasn’t already attractive enough to potential suitors at home and abroad, who are said to include Everton, there’s also the fact that the Stoke-on-Trent-born frontman has less than 12 months remaining on his current Rovers contract. However, clubs who think they could get Brereton Diaz on the cheap are in for a surprise.
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One report this week suggested that Nice - who have already signed Kasper Schmeichel and Aaron Ramsey this summer - had made a £10m bid for the former England youth international. That, however, is unlikely to tempt Venky’s, the owners of the 1995 Premier League champions, into selling the club's prized asset, despite his contract situation.
They were in a similar situation last summer when it came to Adam Armstrong. Like Brereton Diaz, he had 12 months remaining on his deal, and he would have been able to walk away for free by the time it expired given he would have been over the age of 24. Brereton Diaz, who turns 24 in April, will be in the same situation next summer if he remains at Rovers but fails to agree fresh terms.
But that did not stop Venky’s from holding out for a bumper price for Armstrong, who moved to Southampton for an initial fee of £15m plus £5m in add-ons.
After hitting 29 goals in 43 appearances in his final season with Rovers, the former Newcastle United youngster got his Saints career off to the perfect start by scoring on his debut in a 3-1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. But that proved to be just one of two goals he scored in his debut campaign at St Mary’s.
The Premier League, after all, is a huge step up from the Championship, and there will be doubts over whether Brereton Diaz can do the same, too. But that has not prevented Rovers from holding out for a fee similar to the one they received for Armstrong, meaning it is likely Everton, or any else interested in Brereton Diaz’s services, will have to pay well in excess of £10m.
New Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, speaking before last night’s match at Reading, said of Brereton Diaz, who is able to operate across the frontline: “He’s a great player so we know that we’d need to get the right amount of money. I would love him to stay, I know that.
“The most important thing is if, if it should happen, and there’s still two weeks left (of the transfer window), then the amount would have to be right and it would need to be a very good amount, because he’s a very good player.”
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