Forest’s former attacker could be lighting it up in Europe this season
Nottingham Forest’s start to life in the Premier League is looking bright, with the Reds winning two of their first four games of the 2023/24 season.
The previous season had been undeniably difficult for the two-time FA Cup winners.
Last season, the Tricky Trees spent £145 million on 21 new players, more than Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite substantial investment from Evangelos Marinakis’ coffers, Forest were only four points away from relegation to the feared Championship.
After defeating Huddersfield Town 1-0 in the Championship play-off final in 2022, it took Forest a record 23 years to return to the Premier League.
However, if Steve Cooper’s team had kept a now-famous striker labeled a ‘goal machine’ – a particular player who now goes by the moniker Ben Brereton Daz following his departure from the City Ground – they could have returned to the peak of English football much sooner.
Why did Forest part ways with Brereton Diaz?
Brereton Diaz joined Nottingham Forest in 2015 after spending time in the academy systems of Manchester United and his local club Stoke City.
Before breaking into the first squad in the 2016/17 season, the 6 foot 1 attacker progressed through the academy alongside current Forest midfielder Ryan Yates and now Sheffield United centre-back Anel Ahmedhodi.
The attacking ace scored three goals for the Reds in 18 games that season. He outperformed established teammate Ross McCormack (0.23 goals per 90 minutes).
The next season, then-managers Mark Warburton and Aitor Karanka put their faith in the Stoke-on-Trent native to be the club’s first-choice striker.
Forest finished the season in 17th place, thanks to Brereton Diaz’s five goals in 35 games, which led to his departure from the City Ground the following season, as the two-time European champions clearly needed a rigorous rebuild.
Marinakis used club funds to bring in Hillal Soudani, Lewis Grabban, and Joo Carvalho, while Brereton Diaz was loaned out to Blackburn Rovers before being made permanent in January 2019 for £6 million.
A choice that may have paid off, with Transfermarkt currently valuing the excellent forward at roughly €16m (£14m), a 133% rise on what Forest sold him for four years ago.Marinakis used club funds to bring in Hillal Soudani, Lewis Grabban, and Joo Carvalho, while Brereton Diaz was loaned out to Blackburn Rovers before being made permanent in January 2019 for £6 million.
With Transfermarkt now, a choice may have been taken to pay.
How did Brereton Diaz perform at Blackburn?
By the end of the 2018/19 season, Marinakis looked like he had pulled off the club’s best bit of business to date, as the now-Chilean international scored once in 25 Championship while assisting just two times.
Forest finished the season just outside of the play-offs in ninth place, whilst Blackburn had a lacklustre campaign ending the year in 15th.
It would be thought that after one year at Ewood Park the then £6k-per-week attacker may have acclimatised to his new surroundings however the former England-youth international would once again finish the next season with one goal to his name.
Back at his previous club, Forest had finished seventh, missing out on the play-offs by on goal difference as Grabban put the ball in the back of the net 20 times over the course of the season, showing the decision to cash in on Brereton Diaz as a good one.
Tony Mowbray’s faith in the former Manchester United youth prospect was ultimately one of the best decisions the now 59-year-old Sunderland manager has ever made.
The “extraordinary” Brereton Diaz – as once lauded by his former Black Cats boss – stormed the Championship in the 2021/22 campaign blowing away the competition with ease.
The 6 foot 1 talisman finished the season with an outstanding 22 goals in 37 matches helping Mowbray’s Riversiders to a well-earned eighth position.
Remarkably, the Chilean only finished the season with the third joint top goalscorer in England’s second tier with Andreas Weimann and Joel Piroe, Aleksandar Mitrović shattered the record amount of goals in the championship with 43.
Ben Brereton Diaz’s attacking output in the Championship for Blackburn, as per Transfermarkt
| Season | Games | Goals | Assists |
| 2018/19 | 25 | 1 | 2 |
| 2019/20 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020/21 | 40 | 7 | 5 |
| 2021/22 | 37 | 22 | 3 |
| 2022/23 | 43 | 14 | 4 |
Fans at the City Ground may not have cared about losing the ball on Brereton Diaz at the time because Cooper had just led them to the Premier League. However, the next season is when Forest fans would have hoped to see their former attacker on their roster.
On their return to the Premier League, Cooper’s men in red struggled to reach the back of the net. Forest scored 38 goals in the 2021/22 Premier League season, with only Taiwo Awoniyi reaching double figures.
Nottingham Forest attackers vs Brereton Diaz in 2022/23, as per FotMob
| Name | Games | Goals | Assists |
| Taiwo Awoniyi | 27 | 10 | 1 |
| Brennan Johnson | 38 | 8 | 3 |
| Emmanuel Dennis | 19 | 2 | 2 |
| Chris Wood | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Ben Brereton Diaz | 43 | 14 | 4 |
The presence of Brereton Diaz could have provided Nottingham Forest with another outlet to produce goals. The Tricky Trees splashed the cash on £20m rated Emmanuel Dennis and then £17.5m on former Liverpool academy striker Taiwo Awoniyi, with the pair scoring just 12 times between them.
Brereton Diaz ended the season at Ewood Park with a rather impressive 14 goals and four assists as Blackburn finished seventh.
The rangy attacker may have been playing in the Championship, nevertheless, he did it in an overachieving Blackburn side.
The attacking phenomenon was just a fraction of the cost for the Riversiders of what Dennis and Awoniyi were sold for.
Where is Brereton Diaz now?
A big fish in a relatively small pond, the 21-capped Chile International was destined for a move away from Ewood Park.
There were links that the now ex-Blackburn attacker would be playing in the Premier League this season but nothing materialised.
Brereton Diaz’s Hispanic ancestry led him to Spain as he signed for the 2021 UEFA Europa League winners Villarreal in the summer on a free transfer.
This is arguably the biggest move the Chilean striker could have made as it assures him a decent chance to play in Europe every season with none of the ‘big six’ in the Premier League prepared to make an offer.
How is Brereton Diaz doing at Villarreal?
Speaking after signing for Villarreal, Brereton Diaz said: “When I heard about the opportunity it was a no-brainer. An unbelievable club that play great football and I just can’t wait to get started.
“I can’t wait for the opportunity,’ he said. ‘It’s a great challenge and a level above where I’ve been playing at in England so I can’t wait.
“It’s going to be amazing. I just want to work as hard as I can, score goals and work hard for the team.”
The now Villarael attacker has played 103 minutes of La Liga football so far for his new club over two appearances, according to WhoScored.
Brereton Diaz has yet to score or assist in those two appearances and has averaged 0.3 shots and successful dribbles per 90 showing how he has struggled so far at the Yellow Submarines.
However, if history has ever proven anything it’s not to write off the former Forest youth prospect as he has what it takes to prove critics wrong.
