PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
This is a very interesting one! He signed on loan from Forest in summer 2018 with the move made permanent for £7m in January 2019. He was frankly hopeless, not a clue, and the general view was anyone of us could turn up with a pair of boots and do better!!!! 9 goals in 80 league games is not a £7m striker. The guy who sits next to me nods wisely and says "well I suppose someone saw something in him." Then it was discovered he's half Chilean (hence the name change from Brereton to Diaz) and was called up for their Copa America squad summer 2021. The player who returned has been a complete and utter revelation, playing out of his skin and scoring 20 goals in 24 league matches. He's away with Chile at present. If you were to sign him, which I doubt would be allowed by Rovers, it will all depend on which version turns up.
Last summer Skybet offered 1000/1 against Diaz scoring 20 league goals by December 31st 2021. The take up was good and the odds shortened to 500/1. He scored the 20th goal after 65 minutes on December 29th!!!! I have three friends who left Ewood very happy that night. Lucky buggers.
Clearly I'm biased but I'm old enough to take a logical view of these things. If West Ham come in with enough money, £40-50m, I could see the club saying yes. What you're up against is a straightforward gamble for Rovers owners. The owners have "invested" £150m in supporting losses over the past decade. Selling Diaz would recoup a chunk of that but promotion would recoup far, far more in one season and even if we came straight back down the parachute payments would solve all our financial issues. The owners don't need the cash, they are extraordinarily wealthy, and in their shoes I would gamble on promotion. Buying the club was all about profile in India and getting back to the PL would help achieve that. "Face" is more important to the owners than cash and this is the opportunity to save face after a disastrous decade of ownership.
As for the player on a personal level? The squad is on a £10m bonus to achieve promotion apportioned on appearances. If Ben is good enough his time in the PL will come. If he's sensible he will weigh this up; the highs of a promotion, share in a £10m bonus and promotion on his CV as top scorer against a move to WHU which could leave him warming the bench. If he stays if we fail to go up he will be sold, on balance I feel he would be better served spending another five months in Lancashire and then deciding.
I'll be surprised if he leaves. There are no rumours up here. His value won't change other than increase if he keeps scoring.
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