Leicester, Southampton and West Brom place ex-Blackburn striker on January transfer radar | OneFootball

At the start of 2023, it was pretty apparent that Ben Brereton Diaz was going to get a move from Blackburn Rovers with his contract at Ewood Park expiring in just six months time, and it was somewhat of an open secret that by the end of January, Villarreal had agreed a pre-contract deal for the forward.

It was testament to Brereton Diaz's previous 18 months where he had scored goals for fun, as his first three years at Rovers weren't the most prolific and he had tough times since a £7 million switch from Nottingham Forest.

But he found his scoring boots during the 2021-22 Championship season, which coincided with his surprise call-up to the Chile national team through his mother's origins, and 38 goals in 88 matches in all competitions in the space of two seasons led to his move to Spain.

Brereton Diaz's new-found reputation in South America probably led to the Yellow Submarines making the move, which saw the 24-year-old join on a free transfer over the summer, but things aren't exactly going to plan for him in La Liga.

He has featured just eight times in Spain's top tier so far, with just two of those appearances being starts, and an early season change in manager from Quique Setien to Pacheta has not helped Brereton's cause either.

Furthermore, in Villarreal's last three league matches, Brereton has seen the pitch for just four minutes of action, which has compounded his tough start to life overseas.

Perhaps thankfully though, there are clubs back in England waiting to give Brereton Diaz a lifeline - and Villarreal look to be receptive to a move.

Which Championsip clubs want to sign Ben Brereton Diaz in January?

According to a report from TEAMtalk, a Championship trio are keeping tabs on Brereton Diaz's situation in Spain with the view to making a transfer approach in January.

League leaders Leicester City are one of those sides as well as Southampton, and perhaps surprisingly West Brom are also in the mix despite their financial struggles.

They all face Premier League competition though as Crystal Palace and Burnley also have the 21-cap international in their sights, although it appears that no club will be able to land Brereton on a permanent deal.

TEAMtalk do claim though that Villarreal are open to loaning Brereton out when the January window opens at the start of 2024, and a move back to England for the second half of the campaign could give him some confidence back after a difficult first few months in mainland Europe.

The ideal location for Ben Brereton Diaz in January?

With the form Brereton showed for Blackburn, he was always worth a punt on a free transfer, but it now may be time to accept that he needs to quickly return to England.

In truth, if Premier League clubs are intersted then it's likely that the Chile international will head to the top flight, but all three interested Championship parties represent good options.

Enzo Maresca likes to rotate his wide options and with Yunus Akgun not exactly firing on all cylinders for Leicester, Brereton could go in and compete with Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatuwu for a starting berth with the Foxes.

Southampton have plenty of options in wide areas so you'd think that unless someone like Kamaldeen Sulemana is sold then he won't be going there, but West Brom could fit the best - if they can afford to do a loan deal.

The Baggies lack options up-front with Daryl Dike still recovering from achilles surgery and Jeremy Sarmiento's fitness being questionable, so if the funds are there to pay Brereton Diaz's wages for the rest of the season, then Carlos Corberan should do all he can to land the versatile attacker.