EXCLUSIVE: Everton-target Ben Brereton Diaz signs for Villarreal

Jacque Talbot

Updated: 25 Jan 2023 10:50 GMT
3 min read

Ben Brereton Diaz has signed with Villarreal and will join the club at the end of the season, FootballTransfers can exclusively reveal.

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The Blackburn Rovers striker has his deal up at Ewood Park in the summer and we can reveal he has already signed a pre-contract agreement ahead of a move to the La Liga outfit, with his medical taking place last week.

We are told that Everton had tried to sign Diaz in the summer but their initial loan offer was knocked back and they instead bought Neal Maupay from Brighton.

Villarreal president Fernando Roig had been pushing for the player who netted 22 Championship goals last season and his efforts have proved successful.

The Spanish club offered a five-year contract for the Chilean striker and the deal has been wrapped up.

Diaz signed with Championship club Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2015 after his release from Stoke City. The forward joined Rovers on loan and after impressing the move was made permanent.

© ProShots - Diaz is one of Rovers' star players

Chile international Diaz

The 23-year-old represented England at the under-19 and under-20 levels, before being called up to the Chile squad for the 2021 Copa America in Brazil.

He has played 157 matches for Rovers across five seasons - bagging 41 goals in all competitions.

Former Manchester United and Rovers defender Wes Brown said he feels Diaz has all the attributes needed to succeed in the top flight of football.

“Ben Brereton Diaz is a great player. I know there’s been a lot of interest in him and I could definitely see him in the Premier League if he keeps it going until the end of the season,” Brown said to CasinosEnLigne.

“He knows he should be playing at a higher level so we will soon see in the summer what happens.”