Ben Brereton left Nottingham Forest for Blackburn Rovers for a reported fee of £7 million in January but is yet to score for his new club.
Brereton’s move to Blackburn looked like an ideal opportunity for him to get more regular first team football and develop his game.
The 19-year-old striker burst onto the scene in the 2016/17 campaign as he made a promising start to his career at the City Ground. His winning goal against Aston Villa and his performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup will live long in the memory.
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But Brereton simply wasn’t fancied by Aitor Karanka, which resulted in him tumbling well down the pecking order. Having signed Lewis Grabban in the summer, there wasn’t much chance of the youngster forcing his way back into his starting line-up.
Blackburn didn’t waste any time in snapping the youngster up on an initial loan deal, with a permanent deal being announced via the club’s official site in January. They clearly felt the England Under-20 international had a lot of potential.
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But a switch that looked like a good opportunity for the striker has been anything but in reality.
Nightmare
Blackburn returned to winning ways in the Championship in midweek with a 2-0 victory against Derby County. Brereton was nowhere to be seen, as he failed to make an appearance for the 10th time in 15 games.
In fact, Brereton has only made seven appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side since Christmas. He has made a total of 21 appearances this season, but 18 of these have been off the bench. He still hasn’t managed to find the back of the net for his new side.
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Due to how his move has gone, the fact that the Reds received around £7 million for his services could make it one of the best deals the club has done in a long time. Karanka was clearly right in thinking that the striker didn’t have what it takes to be a success in the Championship.
But the 19-year-old still has the opportunity to turn things around. With Blackburn set to head to the City Ground this weekend, Brereton will be hoping Mowbray gives him the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong.