It looks as though Blackburn Rovers will be keeping Ben Brereton-Diaz at Ewod Park until the end of this Championship season, but at something of a price.

According to reports earlier this week, the attacker has now signed a pre-contract agreement with La Liga side Villarreal, that will see him move to Spain on a free transfer when his deal at Ewood Park comes to an end in the summer.

That of course, means that Rovers, will in a few month's time lose their top scorer and highest profile player, without any return on the reported £7million investment they made in him when he joined from Nottingham Forest back in 2018.

Rovers though, will have always known that was a possibility, having stood firm on their apparent £15million asking price for the Chile international, to see off interest from a number of clubs in his services, both in the summer, and this month.

Doing so was a decision that was doubtless taken with the prospect of promotion back to the Premier League in mind.

Brereton-Diaz's form last season showed he is the club's best hope of getting back to the top-flight of English football, something that would of course, bring a financial windfall much greater than any they would receive solely for the sale of a striker.

So with Blackburn having now shown their chance to go all in as they look to secure promotion with their stance on Brereton-Diaz, that is now something they are going to have to do with other aspects of their transfer business in the final days of the transfer window, if that approach is to prove successful

With Jon Dahl Tomasson's side currently 14 points adrift of an automatic promotion place, and having already suffered 13 league defeats this season, it feels evident that keeping Brereton-Diaz alone, is unlikely to be enough to get Blackburn back into the Premier League, if they do not further strengthen their squad in January.

Although they have started to do that with the undeniably exciting loan signing of Huddersfield Town winger Sorba Thomas, there are other areas of the squad that clearly need strengthening if they are to have the resources they will surely need to compete for a place in the top six, throughout the rest of the campaign.

While Leicester loanee George Hirst may have struggled to make any form of impact prior to his recall by the Foxes earlier this month, his departure from Ewood Park has now left Rovers badly short on centre forward options.

That is something Blackburn have seemingly been keen to address, with both Leeds' Joe Gelhardt and Brighton's Deniz Undav identified as January targets by the Ewood Park club.

However, Gelhardt has since joined Sunderland, while a move for Undav is said to be looking increasingly unlikely.

As a result, Blackburn are now seemingly facing something of a challenge, in finding an all important alternative source of firepower to Brereton-Diaz, to keep them pushing on towards the Premier League.

In fairness to the Ewood Park club, it does at least appear as though they are working on the signing of a centre forward, the same of which it appears cannot neccessarily be said, when it comes to another position that is in need of reinforcement, if they are to look capable of competing for a place in the top-flight.

Back in the summer window, Rovers saw three senior central midfielders leave the club, in the form of creator-in-chief Joe Rothwell, the vastly experienced Bradley Johnson, and Jacob Davenport.

Despite that, the club would bring in just one new option in that position, with 20-year-old Tyler Morton joining on loan from Liverpool.

The reason given for that approach, was that Blackburn were reluctant to block the opportunity for development of their own young midfield prospects during the course of this season.

Indeed, that has certainly played out in such a way, with 18-year-old Adam Wharton and 19-year-old Jake Garrett both getting their first taste of some consistent senior game time in the process.

While both have shown plenty of promise while doing so, it is something that has at times left the club overrun in midfield, with a lack of experience and physicality costing them in that position on occasions, something that is not solely down to those Wharton and Garrett either, with the likes of captain Lewis Travis and John Buckley also struggling for consistent form.

Even so, there has been little links with any potential central midfield additions in this window, despite the fact that it does seem that in those circumstances, such a signing needs to be made, if they are to have the options required to compete for promotion.

If Rovers therefore elect not to do that in what remains of the window, then it will generate a sense that they are aiming to build for the future in that position this season.

That will go against what they appear to be doing by going all in with their approach to Brereton-Diaz this season, in throwing everything they have at promotion by accepting the prospect of losing their most valuable player on a free transfer in the hope he can help take them back to the promised land before he departs.

However, if Blackburn are not going to match that intent they are showing by retaining Brereton-Diaz in such circumstances, by not going out and bringing in those other signings that seem to be needed if they are to have a chance of winning promotion back to the Premier League this season.

Indeed, should things play out that way, there will surely also have to be discussions about the decision not to cash in on Brereton-Diaz.

That would of course have brought in funds for Rovers to build for the future, and potentially put together a squad that gives them a better chance of pushing for promotion in the years to come, rather than simply pinning all their hopes on the Chile international, who it is worth noting, is yet to score since the World Cup break.

With Tomasson having also confirmed earlier in the window that Rovers have bid for Hibernian's seemingly Watford bound centre back Ryan Porteous this month, it is no secret that there are also some funds available for the Ewood Park club to strengthen their squad this month.

Consequentially, such a revelation will only further add to the questions asked if there are no more incomings at the club, before the window closes.

It seems therefore, that if there are no more incomings at Blackburn before Tuesday's deadlines, the club's plans and intent will be hard for most to make out, and something which could go on to make a major impact on their hopes for promotion back to the Premier League, in both the short and long term.