Ben Brereton Diaz

[goodymatt]

Thought this was worthy of its own thread now he appears to be joining Saints.

Here are all his goals at Blackburn Rovers:

I also found 5 of his 6 goals for Sheffield United:

I think for £7m rising to £8m (assume that’s if we stay up), its a very sensible signing. He looks like a player that can score all types of goals. Has good strength, can hold it up but also runs in behind well. At 25 years old there is still scope for further development too. Only question is if he will play wide striker or as our main striker, he seems to do well from LW.

[Disco Stu]

 The header against Argentina is excellent. Seems to have a decent turn of pace for a striker his size too.

Edited 28 July, 2024 by Disco Stu

[Turkish]

You’d back him to get 10-12 goals a season given his performance at Sheffield United which for £7m is great business and something we’ve not had since the Koeman days

[goodymatt]

Interesting video on how the Chile opportunity came about. 

[Turkish]

52 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

Thought this was worthy of its own thread now he appears to be joining Saints.

Here are all his goals at Blackburn Rovers:

I also found 5 of his 6 goals for Sheffield United:

I think for £7m rising to £8m (assume that’s if we stay up), its a very sensible signing. He looks like a player that can score all types of goals. Has good strength, can hold it up but also runs in behind well. At 25 years old there is still scope for further development too. Only question is if he will play wide striker or as our main striker, he seems to do well from LW.

Díaz on the Stewart down the middle Armstrong right maybe?

[The Kraken]

Surprised to read from his wiki, he’s 6 foot 1. I had him down for under 6 foot. Quite happy to realise I’m wrong.

[Suhari]

18 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Surprised to read from his wiki, he’s 6 foot 1. I had him down for under 6 foot. Quite happy to realise I’m wrong.

Hopefully some genuine physicality to go with it.

Like the goalscoring record; for the fee it seems excellent business.

[Saint Matty 76]

31 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Surprised to read from his wiki, he’s 6 foot 1. I had him down for under 6 foot. Quite happy to realise I’m wrong.

Same here! 

I honestly thought he was just identical to Armstrong for some bizarre reason.

[Galway saint]

Good signing for the money 

[Colinjb]

A player we have heard of who seems competent in our league. Feels a long time since we've done something so sensible.

[Yorkshire Saint]

1 hour ago, The Kraken said:

Surprised to read from his wiki, he’s 6 foot 1. I had him down for under 6 foot. Quite happy to realise I’m wrong.

4 inches taller than Che....

[Lighthouse]

We’re going to have one heck of a team in the Championship next season.

[HarvSFC]

Heard he didn't change his name for Chile, but he actually added Diaz in order to attract Saints into adding him to the double barrelled quota.

[Sheaf Saint]

A few on here have been touting his name for a few years.

I hope he turns out to be better than the last one of those that we actually ended up signing - Duje Caleta-Car.

[david in sweden]

59 minutes ago, HarvSFC said:

Heard he didn't change his name for Chile, but he actually added Diaz in order to attract Saints into adding him to the double barrelled quota.

Has English father and mother is from Chile.  Has played 30+ games for Chile in last few years and was at Blackburn at the same time as Adam Armstrong.

Impressive looking goal tally when at Blackburn... (see YOU TUBE). 

At 6' 1" will add a bit more height to the front line , and at 25 has a good few years in him.  Looks to be a good signing if medical is OK. 

[Farmer Saint]

Happy with that, and was happy when I was told that it was a proper goer last week - assume he's going to play up top rather than off the left - convert him a bit like Antonio. 

Edited 28 July, 2024 by Farmer Saint

[Harry_SFC]

4 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Thought this was worthy of its own thread now he appears to be joining Saints.

Here are all his goals at Blackburn Rovers:

I also found 5 of his 6 goals for Sheffield United:

I think for £7m rising to £8m (assume that’s if we stay up), its a very sensible signing. He looks like a player that can score all types of goals. Has good strength, can hold it up but also runs in behind well. At 25 years old there is still scope for further development too. Only question is if he will play wide striker or as our main striker, he seems to do well from LW.

Sulemena and Mara could do with watching those penalties. That's how you do it. 

[CSA96]

 

[Midfield_General]

43 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Sulemena and Mara could do with watching those penalties. That's how you do it. 

They could do with watching everything in that video. 

[Dan Johnson]

At £7m I think he’s an excellent buy, was expecting £15m!

I think he’ll get 10-15 goals in the prem.

Seems to fit the Martin mould too, was at Blackburn with Armstrong and Taylor Harwood Bellis (Rothwell too) so we know what kind of character we are buying into.

i think he’s an upgrade on Che, time will tell how much of an upgrade 

 

[Ball boy]

I would be happy going into the season with BBD as our first choice 9 as long as we sign Ramsdale. O Riley would be a plus too though I think Dibling could shine too if given the shirt.

[trousers]

38 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

 

So, according to that analysis, his strongest position is exactly the same as Adam Armstrong's then? i.e. wider on the right rather than as a central striker? Assume we'll sign a centre forward too in that case...?

Edited 28 July, 2024 by trousers

[Patches O Houlihan]

5 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Interesting video on how the Chile opportunity came about. 

This is 16 minutes that every Saints fan needs to watch. This is a proper football fairy tale story. Looks like Saints might have also bought an entire country of potential Saints supporters, as well as a handy striker who can score all sorts of goals.

Clearly a confidence player though, so lets not get on his back if he doesn't score in the first half of his debut 😉

[Tommy Mulgrew]

Here is another go at posting the statistical analysis of BBD, which I tried to put on the transfer window thread but could not get the chart on it; the link should give you the full text and the chart:

https://eplindex.com/116060/report-southampton-targeting-a-move-for-former-la-liga-star-forward.html

Not an out and out CF but looks like he could play on the left (or right) as part of a front two with AA on the right.  And seems to have the ability to play in the middle up front on his own or in a front three.

Hopefully the eplindex analysis complements the videos posted above.

[Patches O Houlihan]

2 minutes ago, Tommy Mulgrew said:

Not an out and out CF but looks like he could play on the left (or right) as part of a front two with AA on the right.  And seems to have the ability to play in the middle up front on his own or in a front three.

Rovers fan in that earlier video suggested that BBD's slow start there was because he wasn't being played on the left. Seems to have supported Alexi Sanchez playing for Chile, also from the left. 

So that's BBD on the left and Arma on the right - the Blackburn dream team reuinted. Do we play 3-5-2, or 4-2-2-2? or will we continue to play 4-3-3 and play Stewart or AN Other between them (or Dibling as a false 9!)

[Saint86]

Personally think this is a class signing for the money. Fancy him to become a bit of a fan favourite at saints. He's got something about him for me - good movement, bursts of pace when he needs them, strength in holding off defenders once he's beyond them, a hell of a shot on him, but also a directness and calmness/composure to vary his finishing. Takes a mean penalty as well. This is a good signing for us. Reckon he'll bag 10-15goals (provided we aren't god awful next season 😅).

Edited 28 July, 2024 by Saint86

[hypochondriac]

18 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Rovers fan in that earlier video suggested that BBD's slow start there was because he wasn't being played on the left. Seems to have supported Alexi Sanchez playing for Chile, also from the left. 

So that's BBD on the left and Arma on the right - the Blackburn dream team reuinted. Do we play 3-5-2, or 4-2-2-2? or will we continue to play 4-3-3 and play Stewart or AN Other between them (or Dibling as a false 9!)

I wonder if we had signed Delap, if we woukd have gone for Diaz as well. Might give us a clue about if we are in for another or not. 

[saintant]

7 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

 The header against Argentina is excellent. Seems to have a decent turn of pace for a striker his size too.

He looks to be a huge upgrade on Che.

[CSA96]

In financial terms it's a pretty shrewd signing too. For £7m and the sort of salary he is on, if he has one good scoring season he becomes great value and would sell for 2/3 times that amount - and if things go the other way and we go down, he's the sort of player (like Arma) who can help get you back up without too much threat of losing him (unless he has a great season)

[Raging Bull]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

So, according to that analysis, his strongest position is exactly the same as Adam Armstrong's then? i.e. wider on the right rather than as a central striker? Assume we'll sign a centre forward too in that case...?

This is my belief. I think we’ll end up with the forward line we’ve been crying out for, for the last 4-5 years 

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

Remember saying that I'd like to see us go for him when he was at Forest, before he became Diaz. 

This seems like a good bit of business. 

[revolution saint]

Decent signing on the face of it although he looks more like a striker than someone who can or should play wide.

[hypochondriac]

7 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Interesting video on how the Chile opportunity came about. 

Seems like a real character and a likable guy. 

[Wurzel]

Just watching those goals videos he sure knows how to time his runs. One of our more exciting signings of recent times.

 

[HKsaint]

5 hours ago, david in sweden said:

Has English father and mother is from Chile.  Has played 30+ games for Chile in last few years and was at Blackburn at the same time as Adam Armstrong.

Impressive looking goal tally when at Blackburn... (see YOU TUBE). 

At 6' 1" will add a bit more height to the front line , and at 25 has a good few years in him.  Looks to be a good signing if medical is OK. 

No worry, our medical is easy to pass. 
 

imagine Diaz on the left, Arm on the right and Mara on the middle to watch. 

[Saint_clark]

6 goals and an assist in 14 games for a poor Sheffield United side is extremely promising for how he might do if we get playing some good football. 

[austsaint]

5 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Seems like a real character and a likable guy. 

And that does count for something.  Martin does seem to be assembling a group of likeable characters who play for the shirt and each other.  You can't discount BBD's performances for Chile either, alongside the likes of Vidal and Sanchez - he hasn't looked out of place.

[rooney]

13 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

A few on here have been touting his name for a few years.

I hope he turns out to be better than the last one of those that we actually ended up signing - Duje Caleta-Car.

Forbes Phillipson Masters was ok.

[goodymatt]

He’s giving me Jay Rodriguez vibes, think he will do well.

[Nolan]

visuals for his Stats at Sheffield

Edited 29 July, 2024 by Nolan

[Nolan]

11 hours ago, trousers said:

So, according to that analysis, his strongest position is exactly the same as Adam Armstrong's then? i.e. wider on the right rather than as a central striker? Assume we'll sign a centre forward too in that case...?

visuals for his Stats at Sheffield

Edited 29 July, 2024 by Nolan

[Saint Scott]

Great business at a low price! Feels more like the wide option RM mentioned, but with flexibility to play 9.

I still fancy a marquee signing to come in to play as the 9, if we manage to get O'Riley and Ramsdale in on it would be an excellent window. Both are likely to have bigger suitors though 

[skintsaint]

Guessing that's the Fraser transfer killed off then. This seems better value anyway.

[Turkish]

47 minutes ago, Saint Scott said:

Great business at a low price! Feels more like the wide option RM mentioned, but with flexibility to play 9.

I still fancy a marquee signing to come in to play as the 9, if we manage to get O'Riley and Ramsdale in on it would be an excellent window. Both are likely to have bigger suitors though 

If we can pull O'Reily off that will be our marque signing.

[hypochondriac]

9 minutes ago, Turkish said:

If we can pull O'Reily off that will be our marque signing.

If we get o'riley I'll be pulling myself off. 

[trousers]

12 hours ago, CSA96 said:

 

 

12 hours ago, trousers said:

So, according to that analysis, his strongest position is exactly the same as Adam Armstrong's then? i.e. wider on the right rather than as a central striker? Assume we'll sign a centre forward too in that case...?

 

1 hour ago, Nolan said:

visuals for his Stats at Sheffield

Yeah, defo more of a left sided attacker than that MotD footage seemed to suggest. Quite excited by this signing.... has good vibes about it, especially after just watching that "Real Stories" video. 

Edited 29 July, 2024 by trousers

[Farmer Saint]

I wonder if we will be looking at a more fluid front 3 (ie all the players can play any of the positions). Would be good as they would pull defences all over the place. 

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

What do Shef United and Blackburn say about him?

[Turkish]

18 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

If we get o'riley I'll be pulling myself off. 

my sources tell me you might need to buy a box of kleenex. 

[ErwinK1961]

5 minutes ago, Turkish said:

my sources tell me you might need to buy a box of kleenex. 

Clever.