Ben Brereton Diaz: Is he ready for the Premier League?

Ben Brereton Diaz has refused to sign a new contract with Blackburn Rovers in favour of a move to the Premier League, but is he good enough?

He had an excellent last campaign, netting 22 times in the Championship and almost carrying Rovers to a play-off spot.

In this article, we have broken down the 23-year-old’s stats from the last three seasons to see if he will be a one-season-wonder, or if he has the potential to be a top-quality player.

 

2019-20

Brereton Diaz joined Blackburn Rovers in January 2019 on a £7.5 million deal, which was seen as a bit of a coup as the-then 20-year-old was touted to have bags of potential.

Heading into the 2019-20 campaign, Brereton Diaz was in and out of the Blackburn team but hadn’t really stood out. In the previous season, he had featured 25 times , but only scored one goal. In fact, at that point he had never scored more than six goals in a season.

However, as a young forward, Brereton Diaz had plenty of time to improve, although he failed to have the instant impact that Blackburn were hoping for.

In 2019-20, he was behind Blackburn’s main-striker Adam Armstrong in the pecking order, so played just 17 matches, but when he did get the chance, he was poor in most aspects of his game.

Diaz averaged just 0.4 dribbles per match, which for a player who played half of his matches as a winger… was a poor return.

Brereton Diaz also failed to make many chances for his teammates, making an average of 0.4 key passes per game and getting zero assists in his 17 appearances.

His only notable contribution was that he took 0.9 shots on target per match, but his finishing was woeful, scoring just one goal.

Blackburn fans were left incredibly frustrated with their new player who had joined with so much promise… the only positive for Brereton Diaz was that he still had plenty of time to improve.

Played: 17

Dribbles per game: 0.4

Pass success: 80.9%

Key passes per game: 0.4

Shots per game: 0.9

Assists: 0

Goals: 1

 

2020-21

In the following season, Brereton Diaz was given a more regular role in the Rovers team, making 43 appearances in all competitions. He played 26 of those games as a left winger, as he was still behind their main striker Adam Armstrong who was in excellent form at the time.

However, the 2020-21 campaign was one where almost all of Diaz’s stats improved. His ability on the ball was significantly better, as he upped his stats to 1.4 successful dribbles per game. He also was a more effective creator for his teammates too, playing 1.1 key passes per match and making five assists in total.

Brereton Diaz also showed the first signs that he could be a prolific goal scorer, doubling his number of shots taken per game from 0.9 to 1.8 per match. As a result, he was much more of a threat, scoring seven goals in all competitions: best return of his career so far.

Blackburn had a disappointing season overall, finishing 15th, but Brereton Diaz’s improvement was one of the positive points for Rovers’ fans.

Brereton Diaz was rewarded for his good performances with a call-up to the Chilean national team in May 2021, which has been huge in his development.

The regular gametime, an increase in goals and playing with the Chile team (making him a fan favourite in South America) boosted Brereton Diaz’s confidence massively and gave him the platform to go into the 2021-22 in great spirits.

Played: 43

Dribbles per game: 1.4

Pass success: 76.5%

Key passes per game: 1.1

Shots per game: 1.8

Assists: 5

Goals: 7

 

2021-22

Last season, Brereton Diaz hit a whole new level of success, proving himself to be one of the best goal scorers in the Championship. Playing for Chile seemed to transform the Blackburn number 22 from an average second division forward to an overnight sensation.

After Adam Armstrong left Blackburn to join Southampton before the start of the 2021-22 season, the pressure was on Brereton Diaz to become Rovers’ main source of goals. The only question was, would he be up to the challenge?

The answer was unequivocally yes.

Brereton Diaz improved his running with the ball once again, making 1.6 successful dribbles per game on average last season.

Some of his stats did get worse though: the 23-year-old made considerably fewer key passes per game, dropping from 1.1 to just 0.6, making just three assists in total. His pass success rate also decreased from 76.5% to 73.5%.

But last season Brereton Diaz played more as a central striker than as a winger, so his role in the team changed… the most important thing of course was goals, and on that front he certainly didn’t disappoint.

The now-Chilean international boosted his shooting numbers up massively, averaging 2.8 shots per game for the season, which put him in the top 10% for shots taken in the Championship and made him Blackburn’s number one goal threat.

In total, Brereton Diaz scored 22 goals in 39 appearances, making him Blackburn’s top scorer by far as well as netting the third-most goals in the entire division. It’s also worth mentioning that the two players who scored more: Dominic Solanke and Aleksandr Mitrovic, were playing in much better teams than Brereton Diaz, so this makes his tally even more impressive.

So, will this be a one-off season, or the beginning of a successful career?

Brereton Diaz’s stats may not have been impressive in his other two seasons at Blackburn, but he has showed significant improvement in every campaign he’s played. You could argue that he’s a bit of a ‘confidence player,’ as his form dramatically improved after his Chile call-up, but surely a move to the Premiership would only boost his confidence further.

Diaz seems to score a lot more when he plays as a centre-forward, so the position he plays at any new club will have an impact on his success.

If he is in a good environment, getting regular minutes and continues to play for Chile, you can expect him to get even better than he is now. At just 23 years old, Brereton Diaz has the potential to get even better and playing in the Premier League will only help his chances.

Played: 39

Dribbles per game: 1.6

Pass success: 73.5%

Key passes per game: 0.6

Shots per game: 2.8

Assists: 3

Goals: 22