Ben Brereton Diaz

[tomphil]

It would be very very galling to see him go to another Championship top 6 chasing rival and Dack maybe go to Sunderland.

In an ideal world i'd keep both on a year extension and find another central striker capable of double figures. Finances are very unlikely to allow that though but if we are ambitious it's the kind of thing we need to do but it all depends on how JDT sees the team developing.

We did ok without BBD for a spell and Dack and imo looked a more balanced functional unit until the shambles at Stoke. I'm putting that one more down to fatigue though and the head coach should have seen the signs and freshened up the starting line up.

However losing the pair of them would be a big blow and a big loss in the goals column lets not kid ourselves.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

3 hours ago, bluebruce said:

Even if he didn't make an immediate impact up there (some of his international appearances suggest otherwise) he'd still be an asset. We've been complaining all season about him going for free, there's no way I'd let it happen given the choice (within reasonable wages of course). Let's say we offer him 60k p/w to stay, and let's call that a 4 million cost over one season once you factor in national insurance, bonuses etc, do you think we wouldn't be able to find a Championship club who would pay say at least £5 million for him next summer? A recently relegated side would be able to cover those wages. Even if we took a small loss instead (let's say it costs 6 or 7 million to keep him a season, due to loyalty bonuses which I think have to be paid in full if a player moves without requesting to leave), it's certainly worth the gamble for me that he might cope with the level. Even if he is just a fairly average Prem level striker he'd be worth upwards of 20 million fully contracted.

Nah, we could get 3 or 4 good players with that amount of wages to spend. If he goes he goes. 

[bluebruce]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Nah, we could get 3 or 4 good players with that amount of wages to spend. If he goes he goes. 

No chance in hell we could get 3 or 4 Premier league level players for 60k per week.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

No chance in hell we could get 3 or 4 Premier league level players for 60k per week.

Who’s talking Premier League players ? Is BBD a Premier League player ? I’m talking about players to get us to the Prem. We can cross the Prem threshold when we get there.

[bluebruce]

27 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Who’s talking Premier League players ? Is BBD a Premier League player ? I’m talking about players to get us to the Prem. We can cross the Prem threshold when we get there.

If you look at the post of mine you replied to, I was talking about if we get promoted this season. So was the poster I was replying to.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

25 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

If you look at the post of mine you replied to, I was talking about if we get promoted this season. So was the poster I was replying to.

Even in those circumstances I still wouldn’t pay that sort of money for him.  He.is not worth that in my opinion. 

[philipl]

The worst possible news from Chile.

Limped off after 50 minutes holding his leg.

[G Somerset Rover]

2 hours ago, philipl said:

The worst possible news from Chile.

Limped off after 50 minutes holding his leg.

This would be huge for us if it’s anything significant, especially as he’d just found his scoring touch again.

Edited March 28, 2023 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[roversfan99]

If it is anything serious then it will have a massive and potentially even terminal impact on our hopes of promotion.

Bloody international break.

[Mattyblue]

Countries playing friendlies in late March with players who have played 40/50 games, great ay.

[ben_the_beast]

23 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Countries playing friendlies in late March with players who have played 40/50 games, great ay.

I can understand if the games are for qualifying. But it is extremely frustrating seeing friendlies scheduled, especially at this time of the year.

The LT says he came off with a knock. Hopefully it was him being smart after receiving a kick, rather than a muscle injury. I can't imagine that sitting motionless on a plane followed by high intensity exercise is good for anyone's body. A recipe for increasing the possibility of injuries. 

[philipl]

He is rated second on the Chilean fans' player rater despite 0 shots 0 assists 0 everything in the stats, only lasting 50 minutes and coming off at 2-1 down which was turned round to a 3-2 Chile win...

[Exiled_Rover]

42 minutes ago, philipl said:

He is rated second on the Chilean fans' player rater despite 0 shots 0 assists 0 everything in the stats, only lasting 50 minutes and coming off at 2-1 down which was turned round to a 3-2 Chile win...

That's certainly one thing I won't miss when he leaves.

We've made absolutely nothing of his Chilean adventure as a club - a massive missed opportunity - but we've had to suffer multiple inconveniences (and an annoying, rabid fan base / football authority).

[philipl]

Good news apparently on the injury.

Arguably the Chilean recognition spurred the transformation from the gauch youngster to the goal scorer he has become.

And the Chilean fans are a fun bunch.

 

[TurkishDelight]

4 year deal. Medic done around Christmas. 

[ben_the_beast]

3 hours ago, TurkishDelight said:

4 year deal. Medic done around Christmas. 

Not disputing it. It looks like the most likely outcome by far. But I'm waiting for it to come from a far more reputable source before considering it signed and sealed. 

Pretty much all that article is information that was pretty common knowledge. It goes further by saying the contract has recently been signed and he's looking for a house, but without any official quotes or confirmations the validity of the article can still be questioned. 

[yankfan]

4 hours ago, TurkishDelight said:

4 year deal. Medic done around Christmas. 

If you’re to believe GB, this couldn’t have been true as it would have had to been reported to Rovers by Viareal  

 

Doesnt matter anyway as he’s not going to be here next year anyway. Highlights the utter stupidity of the last regime letting so many players run their contracts down and walk for free. 

[yankfan]

38 minutes ago, ben_the_beast said:

Not disputing it. It looks like the most likely outcome by far. But I'm waiting for it to come from a far more reputable source before considering it signed and sealed. 

Pretty much all that article is information that was pretty common knowledge. It goes further by saying the contract has recently been signed and he's looking for a house, but without any official quotes or confirmations the validity of the article can still be questioned. 

Agreed but he’s going somewhere else for free in the summer either way. 

[ben_the_beast]

6 hours ago, yankfan said:

Agreed but he’s going somewhere else for free in the summer either way. 

I think he could stay if we are promoted. If we are not the chances or him staying are very low. 

I've put elsewhere in this thread that I think Rovers is actually the beat place for his career right now. But I'm thinking purely from a footballing perspective and not financial. I simply don't think he's ready to take the step up. He's had huge portions of this season where he's been average or below average. The Brereton hype is built upon a 6 month flash of form.

Which brings us full circle back to what is best for his career. If that does turn out to be one purple patch in his career, even though footballing wise a move would be poor, he'll likely never see another contract like this again.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

7 hours ago, yankfan said:

If you’re to believe GB, this couldn’t have been true as it would have had to been reported to Rovers by Viareal  

 

Doesnt matter anyway as he’s not going to be here next year anyway. Highlights the utter stupidity of the last regime letting so many players run their contracts down and walk for free. 

The Brereton situation is different to Nyambe, Lenihan and Rothwell for me. He was on the periphery of the squad until 2021 and if we had offered him a new deal then, plenty on here would have been angry (look at the reaction when Gallagher signed a new deal last year). His transformation over a summer could not have been foreseen and after that, he was never going to sign a new deal with us - unless we get promoted. 

[Mattyblue]

Why would it have mattered if this place would’ve been annoyed that he got a new deal?

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Mattyblue

[philipl]

The UEFA rules are pretty explicit. 

There is nothing to stop Ben Mrs Ben and Mason from visiting estate agents in Villareal but signing right now outside the window when he is becoming a free agent but still contracted...

Plus Villareal is a bit of a back water so popping there and back from wherever Ben lives is more than a day trip. 

At this stage of the season, the club knows where its players are. If not 24 x 7, they certainly don't have entirely unaccounted for two day gaps.

[SBlue]

Is it? It's 40 miles from Valencia. You can get there on Ryanair.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, SBlue said:

Is it? It's 40 miles from Valencia. You can get there on Ryanair.

“ Ryanair “ ! Slumming it with the great unwashed ? It’ll be a private jet surely ? 

[philipl]

2 hours ago, SBlue said:

Is it? It's 40 miles from Valencia. You can get there on Ryanair.

Still cannot do it in a day trip Manchester return unless 25 minutes on the ground at Valencia Airport counts