It is no secret that Southampton are after at least one new forward this summer and it has now emerged the club are ‘keeping a close eye’ on a player who impressed in the Premier League last season.
Russell Martin currently has Ross Stewart, Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara as centre-forward options with Che Adams‘ future uncertain given his contract is about to expire.
Adams has a number of offers on the table, including one from Southampton, but is expected to leave for free this summer.
Of the other options, Mara could be allowed to leave having failed to live up to his potential, Stewart spent almost the entirety of last season out injured and Armstrong played his best football on the wing.
Therefore, it is no surprise Martin is desperate to improve his striking options and Southampton could now move for a player who scored six and assisted one in 14 Premier League appearances last season.
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Southampton interested in Ben Brereton-Diaz this summer
That player is Ben Brereton-Diaz, the striker who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sheffield United.
The 25-year-old only signed for Villareal last summer after a successful spell at Blackburn Rovers but found opportunities difficult to come by in Spain and was allowed to join the Blades in January.
Despite Sheffield United having a terrible season in which they finished bottom of the Premier League with just 16 points, Brereton-Diaz managed to impress and could now return to the English top flight.
That is according to journalist Darren Witcoop, who posted on ‘X’: ‘Ben Brereton-Diaz is eyeing up a return to the Premier League with Southampton and Ipswich keeping a close eye on the Chilean forward’s availability at Villarreal’.
Southampton target Brereton Diaz has shown he can score in relegation battle
Given he made just two league starts for Villarreal prior to making the loan switch to Sheffield United, Villareal are expected to facilitate an exit for the Chile international this summer.
It is good news for Southampton that Brereton-Diaz fancies a return to the Premier League and his seven goal contributions in 14 league games shows he can create and score with limited chances; a key skill for a striker in a side near the bottom of the table.
Speaking on the former Nottingham Forest striker after a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace in January in which Brereton-Diaz scored before being withdrawn with an injury at half-time, Blades manager Chris Wilder was full of praise for the striker.
Wilder said: “He’s a warrior, he wanted to stay on, but I can’t afford to take that chance. The physio and masseur said he had a tight hamstring.
“He was outstanding, it was a great team goal which was well crafted, and I made the decision to protect him, we can’t afford to lose Ben and hopefully he’ll be ok for the weekend.”
Southampton lost out in the automatic promotion race to Ipswich in the Championship last season, but they will hope they can beat the Tractor Boys to the signing of Brereton-Diaz this summer.