Why are Barcelona chasing Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Diaz?
- Matt Whiley
- 8 February 2022
The Championship striker was linked with Barca in the transfer window and a summer move hasn't been ruled out. Planet Sport looks at just what’s in it for the Catalan giants.
Ben Brereton Diaz's international career is certainly unorthodox. Born in Staffordshire to an English father and a Chilean mother, he was first called up to La Roja in May 2021, after a group of fans noticed his South American connections through the computer game Football Manager.
Having been known as plain old Ben Brereton for the first four years of his senior footballing career, he adopted Spanish naming customs upon his international call-up, adding his mother's maiden name of Diaz.
The change has very much suited him. While known only as Brereton, he scored 18 goals in 145 games; since adding some South American flair, he has already hit 20 in just 28 games.
Such form has attracted the attention of football's elite, with Barcelona reportedly interested in luring him away from current club Blackburn Rovers. Planet Sport looks at just why the Catalan giants are interested.
He scores goals
First and foremost, the one biggest attribute Brereton Diaz possesses is his ability to score goals, which after all, is what football is all about.
As previously mentioned, his name change has turned him into a lethal goal poacher and he currently sits second in the Championship scoring charts behind Aleksandar Mitrovic.
In contrast, Barcelona, a side once renowned for their ability to rip teams to shreds with sheer attacking brilliance, have found the net just 36 times this campaign.
Memphis Depay leads the way with eight, with next-best Ansu Fati on four. They need a goalscorer.
He's still young
At 22 years of age, Blackburn's Chilean maestro is not quite young enough to still be in 'wonderkid' territory, but he is certainly a long way off his peak. And with the numbers he's posting, that peak could end up being very high indeed.
Most players in his position put up their very best numbers around the age of 26 or 27, meaning that Brereton Diaz could still have five years before he shows the world what he is truly capable of.
His youth would fit in with Barcelona's current ethos, too. They are developing a real teen dream team, with the likes of Gavi, Pedri, and Fati, and have the second-youngest squad in La Liga, with an average age of 25.5. It's not just his footballing ability that makes him an attractive buy for Barcelona.
He could be a bargain
The fact that Brereton Diaz has not yet reached his peak means a move for him from the Camp Nou might turn out to be a masterstroke. He should cost Barcelona around £20million, which in today's market is not actually too expensive, and wouldn't even put him in the top 100 most pricey transfers of all time.
Given Barca's well-documented financial issues, swooping for Brereton Diaz would make an awful lot of sense in that department. Provided they can allow him the time he needs to blossom, he could seriously outgrow his transfer fee over the next four or five seasons.
He's exceptionally marketable
Since debuting for Chile nine months ago, Brereton Diaz has taken on a legendary status in his (kind of) adopted home, which is one not usually afforded to Blackburn Rovers players, to say the least. He is the face of soft drinks giant Pepsi in Chile, an advert in which he speaks Spanish but slightly betrays his north-west English roots with his pronunciation of his new country's name!
Regardless, the potential he possesses, which has been pounced on by Pepsi, is immense, and for a club like Barcelona, it's nothing short of ideal. They are, of course, just as much a business as they are a football team. Bringing in a man who is idolised on a continent where the population's first language just so happens to be Spanish is a marketing dream, and again, because of his age, he connects with young fans too. Signing him would aid Barcelona in a multitude of different ways.
🇨🇱 Blackburn forward Ben Brereton Diaz starring in Pepsi's latest advert in Chile 😂😂#Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/En3ZHlK7pw
— Football League Zone (@TheFLZone) July 29, 2021
