Newcastle scouts ‘have watched’ Copa America hero but Magpies face six-way transfer battle

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Newcastle United have been keeping a close eye on the progress of Blackburn Rovers forward Ben Brereton Diaz ahead of the January transfer window, according to reports. The 22-year-old, who has emerged as a cult hero in Chile since declaring his international allegiance to the nation, has enjoyed a hugely impressive start to the campaign at Ewood Park.

The 22-year-old excelled at the Copa America over the summer, chipping in with a goal and an assist for Chile before their quarter-final exit at the hands of Brazil.

He has since racked up 16 goals in the Championship for Blackburn and looks set to play a hugely important role in the club’s promotion push this season.

Brereton will be out of contract at the end of the campaign as things stand and has been locked in extension talks with Blackburn chiefs for some time.

However, there is currently no indication that he will sign a new deal, suggesting that a move elsewhere could soon emerge as a real possibility.

The former Nottingham Forest man is said to have no shortage of admirers in the Premier League, with plenty of clubs having followed his meteoric rise to prominence over the last few months.

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Newcastle are among the interested parties and could decide to push for his signature at the turn of the year, according to Eurosport.

The report claims that Brereton has been earmarked as a January target by the Magpies, who have already sent scouts to keep tabs on his development.

However, Newcastle will not be alone in the race for his signature, with Leeds United said to be the early frontrunners.

The Yorkshire outfit are said to be weighing up the addition of a new forward ahead of the Premier League run-in and could make a serious push to land Brereton next month.

The likes of Burnley, Southampton and Brighton have also been tracking the forward’s progress with a view to snapping him up in the near future.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Blackburn will be tempted to accept a nominal fee for their prized asset in January to avoid losing him on a free transfer in the summer.

Rovers boss Tony Mowbray insisted last month that he was not concerned about Brereton’s contract situation but insisted that any fee received for his services will need to be reinvested into the playing squad.

“I’m never worried about selling players,” Mowbray told reporters at a press conference.

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“What do you think he’s worth, £30million? £40m? It doesn’t matter to me, we have to coach the players we’ve got.

“If a Premier League or La Liga club, somewhere Ben wants to go, comes and offers us the money that we think is right… I’m not saying we’re in the market to sell Ben Brereton because we hope to keep him here.

“He helps us stay near the top end of this league and keeps scoring goals but he’s still only a very young boy. I don’t sit here and worry about losing any of our players.

“The frustration has been the reinvestment back into the team. We have just sold a centre forward and there hasn’t been much investment yet I understand because of Covid and the financial losses of our ownership through a difficult time.

“As the world sort of comes back to normality, I hope someone down the line if you sell a player, you have a percentage of that money to reinvest into that team to try and find the next player who becomes a big player. That’s how you grow a club.”

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