Blackburn Rovers' hopes of achieving a top six finish this season are seemingly dwindling away, with Tony Mowbray's side struggling for positive results in recent weeks. 

One factor that that might be due to is the lack of goals being contributed from his strikers who simply aren't making enough of an impact.

Ben Brereton is one of those strikers, and he has struggled to settle down into life with Blackburn since signing from Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal earlier this season.

He signed for a hefty fee of £7m and so there's certainly a weight of expectation on his shoulders, that he hasn't lived up to at this moment in time.

Blackburn boss, Tony Mowbray was speaking in an exclusive event with Rovers supporters earlier this week (quotes sourced from Rovers chat) and he revealed that the youngster is set to feature for the under 23's side.

"He (Brereton) will join the U23s in a couple of weeks. It’s just picking the right fixture for Ben"

This revelation will come as a surprise to many supporters, who would have thought that his development would be best served in the senior squad.

But with Brereton not having a single goal to his name for Blackburn in the league this season, he could benefit from a spell out of the team.

The forward will be hoping that he can find the net for the youth side when they take on Doncaster Rovers in the Premier League Cup on Monday.

The Verdict: 

I'm surprised to see him getting minutes with the under 23's.

I'm all for match fitness, but surely this is going to damage Brereton's confidence?

He'll be keen to prove a point to Mowbray and needs to find his feet at Ewood Park as quickly as possible, or he'll be frozen out of the first-team completely.