Blackburn Rovers are desperate to extend Ben Brereton's contract following his Chile breakthrough at the Copa America tournament, according to LancsLive.

The report states that the club have been in contact with the 22-year-old's representatives over an extension, with his current deal expiring next summer.

Having joined the Lancashire club for a £7 million fee in January 2019, Brereton on the whole has failed to live up to the hype he created when a Nottingham Forest player.

Brereton played just 15 times in the Championship last season but the 2020-21 campaign was a bit more kind to him as Tony Mowbray gave him 40 outings, scoring seven times and assisting five goals.

And his club form led to a surprise call-up to the Chile squad for the very first time this summer for the Copa America tournament - qualifying for the South American nation due to his mother's heritage.

 

 

 

 

Brereton has already made an impact in the competition by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Bolivia, and he's now flavour of the month in Santiago and everywhere else in the country.

Performances on a scale like that will not go unnoticed though which is why Rovers are rushing to try and extend his deal before it's too late and transfer interest emerges.

The Verdict

It makes complete sense for Rovers to open talks with Brereton's team now about his contract - but why hadn't they done it sooner?

Obviously they probably did not foresee their player being called up for Chile and him actually making a massive impact, but the 22-year-old forward showed enough last season to be worthy of a new contract earlier than now.

They now risk opening themselves up to mass transfer interest in Brereton due to his Chile performances as a lot of eyes will be on him, and they may find it hard to tie him down to an extended deal if the vultures start to circle.