Sources: Leeds United set sights on January Ben Brereton Diaz deal after new development - Football Insider 3/9/22
By Wayne Veysey
Leeds United will explore a January deal for Ben Brereton
Diaz after failing in a last-gasp deadline day pursuit, sources have told
Football Insider.
The Yorkshire giants made a late approach for the versatile
forward, 23, after deals for Nice’s Bamba Dieng and PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo
collapsed.
Leeds held talks with Blackburn and Diaz’s representatives
over a deal but were not willing to meet the valuation of £15million plus
add-ons.
However, that does not end Leeds’ pursuit of the Chile
international.
Diaz has made it clear he will not sign a new Blackburn
contract after rebuffing their multiple attempts to extend his deal beyond the
summer of 2023.
Leeds will continue to keep tabs on the player, who has been
playing on the left side of the Rovers attack this season, and will assess the
possibility of a January deal.
Football Insider revealed Leeds’ interest in Diaz earlier in
the summer, with their scouts watching him in a pre-season friendly against
Accrington Stanley on 9 July.
Blackburn won their battle to keep hold of their prize asset
after fending off interest from Premier League and Spanish clubs in the window
that has just shut.
Everton and West Ham also made moves for Diaz, while Celta
Vigo submitted an offer.
Diaz enjoyed the best season of his career in 2021-22 when
he scored 22 goals in 37 Championship games.
He has carried on where he left off last term with his seven
Championship matches in the new campaign yielding three goals, all in matches
that Rovers won, as well as an assist.
In the previous summer (2021) he emerged as a key player for
Chile in their Copa America campaign after switching allegiances to the country
of his mother’s birth.
