Exclusive: Sky pundit predicts Southampton FC transfer conversation for £7m outcast | OneFootball

Don Goodman has exclusively spoke to FLW regarding Ben Brereton Diaz' Southampton situation.

Will Still took charge of his first competitive Southampton fixture in a 2-1 comeback win against Wrexham, but Ben Brereton Diaz played no part in it.

The Red Dragons took the lead via a Josh Windass penalty, with Adam Armstrong, Jay Robinson and Ryan Fraser playing the primary attacking roles for the Saints from the off.

Chasing the game into the dying minutes, Still opted to bring on the likes of Damion Downs, Cameron Archer and Ross Stewart, but left Brereton Diaz on the bench.

We asked Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman whether this is an early sign that the 26-year-old needs to find himself a new club before the transfer window closes.

Don Goodman drops Will Still, Ben Brereton Diaz Southampton claim

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman said: “It was incredible. I watched the Wrexham game, and it seemed at the end of it that literally there were sort of seven or eight forward players on the pitch for Southampton.

“Will Still really threw the kitchen sink at Wrexham, and of course, it paid off.

“But Ben Brereton Diaz, surprisingly, wasn't one of them that he turned to.

“So, can we read anything into that? I don't know, really, but from Ben Brereton-Diaz's perspective, he's at an age now where he needs to be playing football week in and week out.

“He certainly will not want to be keeping the bench warm, so a conversation is probably highly likely between Ben Brereton Diaz and Will Still, where, unless he’s guaranteed some game time, then I guess he will probably try and seek pastures new before 1 September.”

Brereton Diaz needs to kick his career back into life

Since the Chile international departed Blackburn Rovers after a strong few seasons as a youngster, Brereton Diaz’s career has stuttered.

A failed move to Villarreal saw him earn just 20 appearances, providing no goals or assists, before returning to England.

He was loaned to Sheffield United from the Spanish club, before being bought by the Saints and later loaned once more to the Blades, and is now back on the south coast for the 2025/26 season.

He has never managed more than 20 appearances in any of those stop-start spells, his best work coming for Sheffield United with seven goal involvements in 2023/24 and matching that in the Championship last season.

Saints bought Brereton Diaz for a significant £7m fee last summer, but have only seen him play a handful of games as his form in-front of goal continues to struggle.

That a player of such a high profile was left on the bench as Still sent on swarms of attacking threats to beat Wrexham seems as much a message as it does a tactical decision.

Although it seems like the forward has been around for years, he is still only 26 and, as Goodman says, needs to be playing football as he enters his peak years.

He notched a career-best 22 goals for Blackburn in the second tier in the 2021/22 season, so the talent is in there to be unlocked at this level, but if that isn’t to be under Still then Brereton Diaz needs to find a new home.