Former Blackburn Premier League winner Colin Hendry has heaped praise on Ben Brereton-Diaz's transformation as he claimed the forward can inspire the team in their promotion push.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed an outstanding individual campaign so far, scoring ten goals in 11 Championship fixtures. That has helped Tony Mowbray's side to eighth in the table, and they're just a few points outside the play-off places.

Therefore, fans are understandably optimistic, and, speaking to TribalFootball.com, Hendry explained how playing for Chile on the international stage seems to have developed Brereton-Diaz's game.

"Since he's gone off and played for Chile, he's been excellent. He's come on leaps and bounds since he's been playing international football, there's an edge to him and he has a great knack of scoring goals.

"He's in a rich vein of form at the moment and he could be the catalyst for Blackburn this season. He could be the one who pushes the team into a playoff position. For Blackburn to get there, they'll need someone like Ben Brereton-Diaz to get them there."

Brereton-Diaz was involved for La Roja in their World Cup Qualifying campaign in the early hours of the morning as they lost 2-0 to Peru.

The verdict

There's no denying that Brereton-Diaz has been brilliant this season and it does seem that playing for Chile has helped take his game up another level.

As well as showing a clinical edge in front of goal, he has also been contributing to the team with his work-rate and ability to bring others into play.

So, Hendry is right, and whilst Brereton-Diaz is unlikely to maintain the ridiculous rate of goalscoring he is on now, he could still be the man to fire them into the top six.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.