SAINTS have completed the signing of Ben Brereton Diaz on a permanent transfer from Spanish top-division side Villarreal.
The forward becomes the latest addition during a busy summer for the St Mary's side as they look to add quality ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
He has signed a four-year contract on his full-time return to English football. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Sheffield United.
Here's everything you need to know about Southampton's newest forward...
Who is Ben Brereton Diaz?
Ben Brereton Diaz is a six-foot one-inch, 25 year old attacker, born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, who represents Chile at international level.
At seven, Brereton Diaz joined Manchester United's academy. He would remain in their youth set-up until he was 14 when he joined his hometown club Stoke City.
He was released by Stoke a few years later before going on to join Nottingham Forest's academy.
It was there, under Gary Brazil and Jack Lester, that the forward's career started to kick into gear. He was promoted to the senior team in 2016/17.
By the end of that season, he was named Championship Apprentice of the Year, beating Sheffield Wednesday's George Hirst and Bristol City's Lloyd Kelly.
Winner: The @LFEonline Apprentice of the Year for the @SkyBetChamp is @NFFC’s @benbreo! 👏
— EFL (@EFL) April 9, 2017
>> https://t.co/MejC3sMdEO#EFLAwards pic.twitter.com/3YviiC5xUJ
He was rewarded with a four-year contract in 2017 but departed the club for Blackburn Rovers after another impressive campaign in the Championship.
Brereton Diaz joined on an initial loan deal in August 2018 before making the move permanent for around £7million in January 2019.
He made 177 appearances for Rovers, scoring 47 times and providing 16 assists.
After back-to-back successful goalscoring seasons, Brereton Díaz opted to depart Ewood Park at the end of his contract, eventually signing for La Liga side Villarreal.
He struggled to adjust to football in Spain, falling to score in his first 20 games before returning to the UK with a loan at Sheffield United.
He refound his shooting boots at Bramall Lane, scoring six from 14 Premier League games. His performances were a rare bright spot for the miserably relegated Blades.
In his early career, Brereton Diaz represented England. He fired the under-19s to European Championship glory in 2017, finishing joint-top goalscorer with three strikes.
In 2021, he switched his international allegiance to Chile, the country of his mother's birth, after supporters launched a successful online campaign.
He has since gone on to represent the country 33 times, scoring seven times. He has competed at the last two Copa America tournaments.
What sort of player can we expect from Brereton Diaz?
Except for his short spell at Villarreal, Brereton Diaz has demonstrated an ability to be a relatively consistent goalscorer.
At Sheffield United, he averaged a goal every 185 minutes - an impressive feat considering the team's abject performances in the Premier League.
His goalscoring nouse will help fill the gap left by Che Adams' departure, who has been the club's most reliable number nine.
Across the last 365 days, Brereton Diaz has averaged 0.24 goals per shot on target. To put this in simpler terms, he scored around one in four shots on target.
That sees him rank in the 17th percentile for forwards in the top five leagues. For reference, the average for players in the top five leagues last season was 0.37.
Many of his goals come from running in behind or drifting off the left. This is highlighted in the series of images below, taken from a game against Huddersfield.
Here, Brereton Diaz races onto a great ball over the top of the Huddersfield defence, akin to the type of passes we expect from the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
He controls the ball well and sets his body position for a shot. He then uses the two defenders in front of him to block the goalkeeper's vision of the ball and fires into the near post.
His off-the-ball movement doesn't only allow him to race through on goal. He is also good at timing his movement in the box to create space to receive a cross.
Last season he averaged 7.57 progressive passes received per 90 minutes. For reference, the average in the top five leagues was 6.01.
He is also keen to take on his opponents. He averaged 2.15 progressive carries and 3.11 progressive passes per 90 minutes last season.
As mentioned, Brereton Diaz likes to play off the left. Most of his minutes at Sheffield United came in that position, as highlighted by his heatmap.
This does pose an interesting question about how he will be used in Martin's system. Often, it is Adam Armstrong tasked with drifting into the wide areas to find space.
Having played together at Blackburn previously, Armstrong and Brereton Diaz already have an understanding of each other's positional tendencies.
What has Brereton Diaz said and what has been said about him?
Upon joining Southampton, the Chile international said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. It’s been smooth these past couple of days, and I’m happy to get everything sorted and signed.
"I’m really excited to meet everyone, it’s great to be involved with this great club. Watching the club when I was younger, it was always in the Premier League.
"Obviously last season, the way the team played, they went down but they bounced straight back up as a team.
"Also the gaffer as well – everything has aligned together, and I think it’s an amazing club. I can’t wait to get started.”
Our South American on the South Coast 🇨🇱 pic.twitter.com/ImhyU7FGX9
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 30, 2024
Manager Martin added: “I’m really delighted to welcome Ben to the group. He’s a versatile and intelligent footballer, capable of playing in a number of positions across the forward line.
“He is a strong, powerful runner and a confident finisher with a good goalscoring record, including last season’s spell in the Premier League.
“He is a proper team player and the sort of hard-working, hungry character we want in our squad. His athleticism and physicality makes him a great fit for the Premier League, and we think he has all the tools to add to our attacking options.”
On his decision to switch allegiances to Chile, he said: “In my head, I’ve always known my mum is Chilean. (We had) that England and Chile split in the family.
"One was supporting Chile and the other was supporting England. A couple of seasons ago they asked me if I wanted to play for Chile. There was no hesitation from my side.
“It’s a great country with great players. It was a no-brainer. I decided with my family and I’ve never looked back.”
Speaking after becoming Blackburn's new talisman after Armstrong moved to Saints, Brereton Diaz said: “Seeing Arma, he was brilliant last season scoring a load of goals.
"I’ve scored a few so far and I feel that when I go onto the pitch I can nick a goal or two and I feel confident. I just need to keep working hard.”
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder was full of praise for the forward's performances during the second half of last season.
He said: “Ben doesn't look like he's a loan player. He looks as if he's playing like a Sheffield United player.
“We've got a lot of loan players and the problem sometimes with loan players is that when it's going well, it's brilliant.
"And when it isn't, I think it's an easy one just to look elsewhere and think: 'Well, I might be back at my parent club pretty soon and I can just get on with my career."
Why have Saints signed Brereton Diaz?
As highlighted above, the departure of Adams at the end of his contract this summer has left Southampton short of goalscoring forwards.
The club had reportedly made a move for Liam Delap but the Manchester City academy graduate opted to join Ipswich Town instead.
A move for Brereton Diaz sees them secure a striker with a longer track record of scoring goals and someone with some Premier League experience.
His preexisting relationships with Armstrong and Harwood-Bellis from Blackburn should help him adjust to life on the South Coast quickly.
At a reported £7million he could prove to be yet another bargain. It remains to be seen if he can be a consistent goalscorer in the Premier League long-term.
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