Blackburn Rovers key figure makes transfer admission on star amid previous Everton, Fulham and West Ham links | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers Director of Football Gregg Broughton has admitted that his side received “significant” offers from sides in the final couple of weeks of the summer window for Ben Brereton Diaz but none were close to the owners’ valuation of their star man, speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph.

The 23-year-old had been the subject of interest from sides throughout the summer, with West Ham United one club thought to have been firmly in the mix to recruit him.

It was then revealed during the latter stages of the window that Everton were keen on taking him to Goodison Park, with the Toffees and Fulham previously looking set to battle it out for his signature.

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Old Trafford

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But neither side was unable to make a breakthrough despite the fact the Chile international has less than 12 months left on his current contract at Ewood Park, weakening the Lancashire side’s negotiating power.

The forward is still yet to put pen to paper on a new deal at this stage, leaving the Championship side at real risk of losing their best asset for free.

But Broughton is fully behind the owners’ tough stance on the 23-year-old – and provided insight into what happened with their star man in the summer.

He said: “There were no significant offers until the last couple of weeks of the window, and even then they got nowhere near the owners felt the valuation of the player was, and by the way I fully support the owners on what Ben’s valuation was as well.”

The Verdict:

If these bids weren’t worth entertaining, then there was no point in their owners accepting them because the Chilean could be extremely useful to Blackburn’s cause once again this season.

His presence is particularly important following Tony Mowbray’s departure, with the 23-year-old able to provide stability at a time of real change for the second-tier outfit.

Not only did the manager change – but a new Director of Football has also come in and it would have been easy to see them struggle for a bit considering the continuity they previously had under Mowbray.

And with the players they have brought in, they could potentially push for the top six once again, even without Darragh Lenihan, Ryan Nyambe and Joe Rothwell at the club.

Dominic Hyam took Coventry close to the play-offs, Callum Brittain managed to reach the top six with Barnsley during the 2021/22 campaign and Tyler Morton could easily transform himself into a real star at Ewood Park.

And with George Hirst coming in, he could help to provide some extra attacking firepower to help out the likes of Brereton-Diaz and Sam Gallagher. With the Chilean at the centre of things, there’s every chance they could be successful.