Blackburn boss wants Ben Brereton Diaz to stay and admits a replacement would not come cheap
- Seb Sternik
- 1 September 2022
Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson is desperate to keep Ben Brereton Diaz after the Chile international fired his side to a 1-0 win at Blackpool.
The 23-year-old has been strongly linked with moves to Fulham or Everton with the transfer window set to close on Thursday night, while there is also speculation he could head abroad.
But after his 16th-minute strike was enough to see off Blackpool and end Rovers' three-game losing streak, Tomasson is anxious to keep hold of his striker.
The Rovers boss said: "He scored another great goal. He ran in behind the defenders at just the right moment, it was a goal of great timing.
"We know Ben is a top-quality player, so let's just wait and see what happens tomorrow.
"Hopefully he's still at Blackburn on Friday because we need his quality. He's a great lad, too. He works so very hard around the place.
"If Ben isn't staying, whoever comes in for him will need a lot of money. And whatever happens we'll need to use our squad.
"Hopefully there will be one or two new signings coming in before the window closes."
Just listen to that reaction! 🔊
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 31, 2022
Ben Brereton Díaz gives Blackburn the lead with a clinical finish 💥 pic.twitter.com/eXwM1DA1QH
On the hard-fought win against local rivals, Tomasson added: "Derby games do tend to be difficult ones, but we had 3,000 brilliant fans behind us and I think they really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it.
"It was very intense at times, but with and without the ball we were good, we always looked dangerous."
Blackpool have an in-demand striker of their own in Josh Bowler, and he threatened first at Bloomfield Road.
But Brereton Diaz showed his clinical side when he slotted home after being put in by Bradley Dack for what turned out to be the game's only goal.
