(Football news) Blackburn Rovers star Bern Brereton Diaz has snubbed Premier League interest and has agreed a pre-contract deal with Villarreal as he is set to join them in the summer. It means the 23-year-old Chilean forward will move to LaLiga on a free transfer when his contract expires at Ewood Park. It is a hefty blow for Blackburn who have been having good seasons in recent years in the Championship and had high hopes of reaching the Premier League next summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villarreal won the race for Brereton Diaz ahead of a whole host of clubs including a number of Premier League teams. Over the past year the likes of West Ham, Everton and Leeds have shown massive interest in him. However, the former Nottingham Forest player will now make the move to Spain to continue his career.
The former England Under-20 international Brereton Diaz who chose Chile as his international allegiance, qualifying through his mother and subsequently become a national icon in a short space of time. Despite growing up at Staffordshire, the striker has already gone on to make 17 appearances for Chile after making his debut in 2021 and has already scored four goals. His first goal was against Bolivia on his first debut for Chile at the 2021 Copa America. The goal sparked wild celebrations among the players and fans, since then he has become some sort of a cult hero with the Chilean supporters.
Brereton Diaz has revealed that he has been taking Spanish lessons three times a week and has been learning the Chilean national anthem. It appears that his move to Spain could help him at international level as he looks to integrate into Chilean culture. Losing Brereton Diaz will be a major blow to Blackburn who are currently in fifth place in the Championship and the forward has gone on to score 12 times this season in all competitions as well as setting up four assists. For the Blackburn owners, they will be hopeful that Brereton helps them earn promotion to the Premier League and once they do achieve, with the influx of cash they can replace him.
Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson refused to comment on the speculation. “I can’t say if anything is official yet, maybe later on other people can say that, I don’t think it’s official, I haven’t heard it yet from Villarreal. If it should be Villarreal then they’re a great club.
Tomasson said “I’m not the coach for Villarreal, I’m the coach of Rovers, so let’s wait and see. We all know that he’ll do a good job for Blackburn, do his best. I can’t say if anything is official yet, maybe later on other people can say that. I have had the question more than 1,000 times and that’s understandable because he’s an important player for us, a great lad to work with”.
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