Premier League strugglers Leeds United have shown interest in securing the services of Chilean international Ben Brereton.
According to The Sun, Premier League side, Leeds United are eyeing a move for Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton.
The 22-year-old initially came through the Manchester United youth ranks before moving to Stoke City in 2013. He spent two years with the Potters before swapping the Bet365 Stadium for Nottingham Forest in 2015. Here, he made his senior bow in 2017.
The striker made enough of an impression to prompt a loan move from Blackburn Rovers in 2018. The deal was made permanent in 2019, and Brereton has since gone from strength to strength. This season, the striker has been in top form, scoring 17 goals and assisting one more in just 22 Championship games. In many ways, his prolific form in front of the goal is exactly what Marcelo Bielsa’s side lacks.
The Yorkshire outfit are finding it difficult to get the desired results in their second season back in the top flight. A major reason for it has been their inability to find the back of the net. Patrick Bamford is the club’s first-choice striker, but injuries have limited him to eight appearances in all competitions this season.
Leeds do have Spanish international Rodrigo Moreno in their ranks, but he has failed to establish himself as a dependable backup to Bamford. The crux of scoring the club’s goals has fallen to Brazilian winger Raphinha who outstrips his teammates with seven goals this season. To put things into perspective, it is more than what Bamford, Rodrigo, and Jack Harrison – Leeds’ next three best scorers have managed to do combined.
Leeds are staring at the prospect of getting dragged into the relegation dogfight, and their life has been made harder by Bamford picking up a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw against Brentford. Bielsa & co. will be well-served to bring in another striker this January if they are keen to retain their status as a Premier League outfit.
Brereton is in excellent form and could prove to be a wise purchase. However, he will not come cheap and could set Leeds back by £25 million. Given his age and potential, it might turn out to be money well spent in the years to come.
The Yorkshire outfit will face competition from Sevilla and Brighton. The latter are also struggling to score goals and could do with a proven goalscorer to lead their line. It might prove to be a direct face-off between two Premier League sides for the Chilean international.
Brereton’s contract expires in the summer of 2022, but Blackburn look set to use their one year option to extend his stay. They also remain keen to hand the striker a new long-term deal that will keep him at Ewood Park for years to come. Blackburn are in the fourth spot in the Championship and, thus very much in the race to gain promotion to the Premier League. Losing their star striker at this point would amount to self-sabotage. Just which way the cookie crumbles remains to be seen.
