If they keep their recent Championship form up, Blackburn Rovers will end up giving it a real good go to push for the second automatic promotion spot in the league, but they are a good bet to be at least in the play-offs come the month of May.

They may have suffered heartbreak at Bramall Lane on Sunday in which they were denied their first ever trip to the new Wembley Stadium, but when the international break ends they must focus on the final nine matches of the league campaign.

Rovers are nine points behind Sheffield United in the table having played the same amount of matches but also only four points from dropping out of the top six, so nothing is set in stone, and they may have to rely on the goals of Ben Brereton Diaz to push them over the line.

His 20-goal salvo in the first half of last season was the talk of the EFL in 2021, but his form suffered in 2022 and that plus injuries meant between January 1 and the end of the 2021-22 season, he only scored two league goals.

The Chile international has managed to spread out his contributions in-front of goal out across the season so far, with 12 goals and four assists in 34 matches, but since the campaign began he has had to put up with intense transfer speculation.

Bids late on in the summer transfer window were turned down and with six months remaining on his contract back at the start of January, overseas clubs were allowed to start talking to and negotiating with him for the 2023-24 season and beyond.

And near the end of January, it was reported by various publications, including LancsLive, that the 23-year-old forward had agreed a pre-contract arrangement with La Liga outfit Villarreal.

This was refuted by Rovers director of football Gregg Broughton a week later, stressing that the club would have to have been alerted if an agreement had been reached, with Brereton always stressing that he will decide on his future at the end of the season.

But there are multiple reasons as to why the move to Spain, if it is still lined up, would not be the best one for Brereton.

Even though heading to the top flight of Spanish football would perhaps be good for his international exploits with Chile and testing himself at a higher level, personal reasons should really play a big factor.

Brereton became a father for the first time back in January, and it doesn't seem to make sense to head across Europe to play his football when he has an infant son to think about and be with.

Of course, he could uproot his family from England to go to Spain, but it would make much more sense if he were to stay in the United Kingdom as he will likely have plenty of suitors.

Last summer, Fulham made a late play to sign him, only to be turned down, whilst Everton and Leeds United showed interest too - you can imagine that those kinds of clubs, as well as other Premier League sides, will all be willing to offer Brereton good money to sign on a free transfer come June.

And what's not to say that he could stay at Ewood Park if Rovers return to the Premier League? Brereton seems to genuinely enjoy himself at the club and if promotion is secured then the Venkys could afford to offer him a bumper new contract, even if it may unsettle his teammates if there is a major wage disparity with most of the squad.

Brereton will likely have a lot of options on the table come June if he just waits it out, which it seems like he is going to do, and having done so well in the Championship he should hold out for a move to a Premier League club instead of taking himself off abroad - both for footballing and off-field reasons.