TeamTalk claim Leeds and West Ham have been blown out of the water in the race to sign Blackburn Rovers goal machine Ben Brereton-Diaz – by Champions League side Sevilla. A fee is expected to be north of £20million.
Brereton-Diaz, 23, is enjoying a whirlwind spell in his career – having switched allegiance to Chile. He has since scored four goals in 11 caps for his country, becoming a national hero with some crucial Chile goals.
At club level, Brereton-Diaz is on fire – scoring 21 goals in 34 Championship appearances this season. A ruptured ligament in his ankle has stunted his progress of late, but he has returned and since scored for Blackburn.
With three league games to play, Blackburn are up against it in their bid to reach the Championship play-offs and without promotion – Brereton-Diaz is likely to go. Leeds and West Ham are among the clubs interested in him.
But TeamTalk report that Sevilla are about to win the race, with the lure of Champions League football likely to have tempted Brereton-Diaz. Sevilla want to pay £20million, but a fee is likely to go slightly higher than that.
Leeds, West Ham miss out: Is Brereton-Diaz making a mistake?
A move to Leeds or West Ham would see Brereton-Diaz continue to get plenty of game time. He could quite easily overtake Patrick Bamford, especially if the England star’s injury woes continue.
At West Ham, Michail Antonio is also somewhat injury prone and his form has been up and down. With West Ham likely to be in Europe next season, there would be plenty of opportunity for Brereton-Diaz to play.
Sevilla already boast numerous options up top. Youssef En-Nesyri, Lucas Ocampos, Rafa Mir and more. But Brereton-Diaz does have the quality, given the time to shine. It is a risk, but it could pay off.
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