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This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Nottingham Forest are set to compete for the signature of Ben Brereton Diaz from Blackburn Rovers.
According to Teamtalk, the Chile international is also a transfer target for Bournemouth, West Ham and Aston Villa.
Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on if the 23-year old would be a good addition to Steve Cooper’s side…
Alfie Burns
What we’ve seen from Brereton Diaz over the course of the last two seasons is a player that’s more than earned his shot at Premier League football.
Brereton Diaz’s form for Blackburn has been incredible, whilst his international career deserves the recognition it is getting.
So, naturally, for Forest, if they are going to be signing the Chilean, you’ve got to say he’s a good signing. He can score goals if he plays regularly, with plenty of belief he can step up into the Premier League.
The issue I’ve maybe got with this deal is how much Brereton Diaz would actually play at the City Ground given the level of the club’s recruitment this summer. They’ve signed so many players this summer already and I’d fear he might just become another shirt number within Cooper’s squad.
Whilst I’ve written previously that I feel Brereton Diaz might benefit from coming in with more of a supporting act in the Premier League, he needs to get guaranteed games to keep developing. And, looking at Forest’s squad, I’m not sure they offer him that.
Marcus Ally
Forest probably have enough depth in the striker position to not need to sign Brereton-Diaz this summer.
Brennan Johnson, Taiwo Awoniyi, Emmanuel Dennis and Sam Surridge are all capable of playing in Cooper’s front two, with the latter being the most likely to make way.
If Surridge stays at the club, then Brereton-Diaz should be looking elsewhere given the players blocking his pathway to regular first team minutes.
Forest have had an excellent summer and should be looking to add some depth in their backline rather than forward, therefore this does not seem like the right fit for the player or the club.
A 3-5-2 system does not suit Brereton-Diaz particularly and therefore other interested parties should be prioritised.
Declan Harte
Forest have received a lot of attention this summer for the sheer quantity of transfer deals that the club has made upon gaining promotion.
However, it is hard to argue against most of the moves they have made as it was clear that the squad needed overhauling due to a reliance on loan figures last season.
The addition of Brereton Diaz would likely see the removal of Sam Surridge from the team, who was a capable squad player in the Championship.
Upgrading him now for the Chile international would be good business if the club can actually afford it, but it is by no means a necessary move.
Emmanuel Dennis, Taiwo Awoniyi and Brennan Johnson are all credible candidates to receive the majority of first team minutes, with Surridge capable of continuing his squad role for another year.
It’s hard not to feel like other areas of the team could be prioritised over securing a fourth choice attacker at a costly sum, so while Brereton Diaz would be an exciting signing it’s not one the team particularly needs to make at this moment.
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