Ben Brereton has struggled to make an impact at Blackburn Rovers since making a £7 million move from Nottingham Forest.
But Tony Mowbray believes that the 19-year-old striker will go on to become a big player for the club in the future. Brereton hasn’t started a game since 17 February against Middlesbrough, but Mowbray has given his backing to the youngster, in quotes reported by the club’s official site.
Brereton has struggled to pin down a place in the Rovers side since he left the Reds last summer. A switch certainly hasn’t worked out as he would’ve hoped. He has made 21 appearances so far, and has failed to find the back of the net since making the move.
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As a result, he has had to settle for a place on the bench for the majority of the campaign. Eighteen of his 21 appearances so far have been as a substitute. The likes of Craig Conway, Bradley Dack and Danny Graham have been Mowbray’s preferred attacking options.
‘We’ll be fighting off bids for him’
But having invested around £7 million in the striker, Mowbray remains confident that Brereton still has a bright future at Ewood Park. He may even be given a chance to impress on his former stomping ground this weekend.
(Photo by Rachel Holborn – BRFC/Getty Images)
“I’ve talked a lot about Ben in the past, I think he’s a wonderfully talented boy,” Mowbray said. “Maybe this is an occasion for him to show the people of Nottingham what he can do, although I feel as though he has already done that.”
“As I’ve always said, somewhere done the line, everybody will be saying ‘wow, what a player’ and we’ll be fighting off bids for him.
“I know that time will come at some stage. Let’s hope he gets an opportunity on Saturday and he can show everyone how good he is.”
(Photo by Rachel Holborn – BRFC/Getty Images)
In this case, it’s fair to say that the Reds won’t regret offloading Brereton. Seventeen-goal man Lewis Grabban has proven to be a significant upgrade this season. But at 19 years old, Brereton has more than enough time to prove his doubters wrong. He’ll be hoping he can begin that process at the City Ground this weekend.