Southampton manager Will Still told to "get rid" of £7m player after Premier League struggles | OneFootball

FLW's Southampton fan pundit has given his verdict on Ben Brereton Diaz's future with the club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Ben Brereton Diaz will be one of Southampton’s attacking options going into the 2025-26 Championship season, and there's every chance he will be given a clean slate by new boss Will Still.

The forward arrived in the 2024 summer transfer window from Villarreal for £7 million, but suffered an underwhelming first year at St. Mary’s.

The Chile international made just 10 appearances in the Premier League before being loaned out in January to Sheffield United, having failed to score in the top flight for the Saints.

With his loan stint at Bramall Lane over, Brereton Diaz has returned to St Mary's Stadium this summer, and with Still now in charge as manager, it remains to be seen how important he will be for the team going into the new term.

Southampton urged to sell Ben Brereton Diaz this summer after disappointing 2024-25 season

When asked about Brereton Diaz’s future, FLW’s Southampton fan pundit Martin Sanders claimed that the club have to get rid of him this summer.

He believes that the 26-year-old will only be remembered for his incident with Fabian Schar in which the Newcastle United defender was sent off, criticising him for not being a Premier League level talent.

“Absolutely, 100 per cent get rid of him,” Sanders told Football League World.

“From what I saw last season, he was absolutely abysmal.

“In the games he played for us last season, he was way short of being good enough to play at the Premier League level, so goodness knows what he’s like at Championship level.

“Initially, when you saw his statistics on paper and you looked at what he did at Sheffield United before he came to Saints with that little loan move in the Premier League, I thought he might be alright.

“He scored a few goals, looked handy and came to our place, played out on the right-hand side and I see him kick it out more than he kicked it to a team-mate.

“So, I’m not sure that clubs are going to be queuing up for Ben Brereton Diaz.

“He will be remembered at Southampton for one thing and one thing only, that headbutt on Fabian Schar on the opening day of the Premier League campaign at St. James’ Park last season.

“That’s what he’ll be remembered for - he got Schar sent off on the day.”

Southampton have a wealth of attacking options - Ben Brereton Diaz may not fit in under Will Still

Still will need to narrow down his preferred options at Southampton quickly, because the Saints will surely want to offload those he won’t be as likely to use.

The Hampshire outfit have Brereton Diaz, Cameron Archer, Ross Stewart and Adam Armstrong all capable of leading the line, with Damion Downs also now arriving as a new signing from FC Koln.

Brereton Diaz does have a proven track record at Championship level for Blackburn Rovers, so it may be worth keeping him in the squad.