Ben Brereton

Benjamin Anthony Brereton (born 18 April 1999), known as Ben Brereton Díaz, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or wide midfielder for club Sheffield United, on loan from club Southampton. Born in England, he plays for the Chile national team.

Brereton Díaz began his club career with Nottingham Forest, making his senior debut in 2017. He moved to Blackburn Rovers in 2018, initially on loan before joining them on a permanent transfer in 2019. In 2023, he signed for Villarreal in Spain's La Liga, but did not score any goals over 20 games and left on loan for Sheffield United and then permanently to Southampton. He has since had loan spells at Sheffield United and Derby County.

Born in England, Brereton Díaz represented his birth country at under-19 and under-20 level. Qualifying through his mother, he was selected for the senior Chile team in 2021, and played at the Copa América in 2021 and 2024.

Early life Brereton Díaz was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and attended Blythe Bridge High School. He was born to Martin Brereton, an English policeman and former amateur football player in Stoke-on-Trent area and District Sunday League, and Andrea Brereton , born in Concepción, Chile, who worked at Churchill China.

Club career Early career From the ages of seven to 14, Brereton Díaz was in the youth set-up at Manchester United. In 2013, he moved to his hometown club, Stoke City.

Nottingham Forest Brereton Díaz signed for Championship club Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2015 after his release from Stoke City. Brereton Díaz made his first-team debut for Forest on 25 January 2017 as a 76th-minute substitute during a 2–0 loss to Leeds United. He scored his first goal on 4 February, netting in injury-time against Aston Villa to give Forest a 2–1 victory.

On 27 March 2017, having made ten appearances and scoring against Fulham and Brentford, Brereton Díaz was nominated for the Championship Apprentice of the Year award. He was one of three players nominated, the others named as Lloyd Kelly of Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday's George Hirst. Brereton Díaz was announced as the winner at the EFL Awards at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, on 9 April. He signed a long-term contract with Forest on 22 June 2017, keeping him under contract at the club until June 2021.

Blackburn Rovers On 28 August 2018, Brereton Díaz signed for Blackburn Rovers on loan, with a view to making the transfer permanent in the January 2019 transfer window. On 4 January 2019, the move was made permanent for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £7m.

Brereton Díaz was awarded the Championship Player of the Month award for September 2021 after scoring six goals in five matches, including a hat-trick against Cardiff City. After the 2021–22 season, when he scored 22 goals as Blackburn finished 8th, the club triggered a one-year contract extension for Brereton Díaz.

In the 2022–23 season, Brereton Díaz scored 14 goals as Blackburn finished seventh, just outside the playoff positions on goal difference. His final game of the season was against Millwall, in which he scored two goals as Blackburn came back from 3–1 down to win 4–3.

On 8 May 2023, it was confirmed that Brereton Díaz would be leaving Blackburn in the summer.

Villarreal On 4 July 2023, following the expiry of his contract at Blackburn, La Liga club Villarreal announced the signing of Brereton Díaz for a four-year contract on a free transfer. He played 20 games across all competitions, starting 6 and playing an average of 28.5 minutes per match, and did not score any goals.

First loan to Sheffield United On 5 January 2024, Brereton Díaz returned to England, joining Premier League side Sheffield United on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 victory over Gillingham in the FA Cup. He scored his first goal for the club on his Premier League debut against West Ham United on 21 January; the match finished in a 2–2 draw. He totalled 6 goals in 14 league appearances for the Blades, who were relegated. He made his debut for the club on 17 August in a 1–0 away defeat against Newcastle United. On 14 September, after a 3–0 loss to Manchester United, he surpassed Marvin Sordell's record of 17 Premier League appearances with no win. He was one of several first-team players moved into the under-21 team by manager Russell Martin. He did not score any goals in 13 league and cup appearances for the Saints.

Second loan to Sheffield United On 20 January 2025, Brereton Díaz returned to Sheffield United of the Championship on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season with an option to buy in the summer. Ben Brereton Díaz went on to score 4 times in his second spell with the blades.

Loan to Derby County On 31 August 2025, Brereton Díaz joined Derby County on a season-long loan. Brereton Díaz made his Derby debut on 13 September 2025 in a 1–0 win at West Bromwich Albion. On 27 September, Brereton Díaz scored his first goal for Derby County in a 1–1 draw at Wrexham. Brereton Díaz had a difficult start to this Derby career, with the Wrexham goal in September being his only goal involvement in 2025. In January 2026 and with a change in the system Derby played, Brereton Díaz had an upturn in form, scoring two goals and creating two assists in the month. Brereton Díaz made 41 appearances during his loan spell at Derby County, scoring eight times. Derby head coach John Eustace stated a desire to make his move to Derby permanent in the summer.

Third loan to Sheffield United On 28 August 2026, Brereton Díaz returned to Sheffield United on a season-long loan.

International career Born in England to a Chilean mother,

Brereton Díaz was subsequently called up to represent England at the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In the group stage, he scored the winner against the Netherlands and twice against Germany. Brereton Díaz was a second-half substitute during the victory against Portugal in the final. His total of three goals meant Brereton Díaz was joint top goalscorer at the tournament. Brereton Díaz also played at the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, scoring his only goal of the tournament in the opening group stage match against Turkey.

Chile After noticing he was half Chilean whilst playing Football Manager, a group of fans began a social media campaign to get Brereton Díaz picked for Chile. This was subsequently picked up by the national media and on 24 May 2021, Brereton Díaz was called up to the Chile squad for the first time by manager Martín Lasarte for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia. He was subsequently included in Chile's squad for the 2021 Copa América in Brazil, and on 14 June he made his debut as a substitute against Argentina in a 1–1 draw. On 18 June, he was handed his first start as he scored his first international goal for La Roja, against Bolivia in a 1–0 win.

In Chile's failed 2022 World Cup qualification campaign, Brereton Díaz scored in consecutive home wins over Paraguay and Venezuela in October 2021. After the latter, he presented his shirt to former international and Real Madrid and Inter Milan striker Iván Zamorano.

On 16 June 2023, Brereton Díaz scored his first international hat-trick, in a 5–0 friendly win over the Dominican Republic in Viña del Mar; it was his mother's first time watching him for her country, and the performance brought her to tears of joy. In March 2024, he was dropped by Chilean coach Ricardo Gareca due to his lack of Spanish language skills, but later in June he was called up for the 2024 Copa América. He played all three games as the team were eliminated as third place in their group in the United States. as Spanish names use both the father's surname and mother's surname. He then announced in July 2021 he would use the name at club level as well. Since playing for the national side, Brereton Díaz said he has been taking Spanish lessons three times a week and learning the national anthem.

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2016–17 Championship

2017–18 Championship

2018–19 Championship

2019–20 Championship

2020–21 Championship

2021–22 Championship

2022–23 Championship

Villarreal 2023–24 La Liga

Sheffield United (loan) 2023–24 Premier League

2025–26 Championship

2026–27 Championship

Sheffield United (loan) 2024–25

Honours England U19 UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2017 EFL Championship Apprentice of the Year: 2016–17 Junior Rovers Player of the Year: 2021–22 Chilean Footballer of the Year: 2022 PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 Championship