Villarreal not likely to give up on Ben Brereton-Diaz despite reports

Ben Brereton-Diaz is unlikely to move on any time soon despite reports linking him with a return to England.

The Chile international was signed by Villarreal on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers in the summer, but he has struggled to nail down a starting spot. In fact, he has started just twice in La Liga so far.

Pacheta has been unwilling to give Brereton-Diaz a significant role despite struggling in his time in charge of the Yellows, and that has led to links of a return to England for the forward.

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Reports have claimed that Crystal Palace and other clubs are interested in Brereton-Diaz, who has struggled to adapt to Villarreal’s possession-based football.

But neither the club nor the forward are likely to give up this early. Brereton-Diaz was well aware of the step up he was making, while he also wanted to challenge himself to learn Spanish given his commitment to the Chile national team.

The forward spoke of his struggles to consistently learn the language while playing in England and surrounded by an English-speaking world.

Meanwhile, he was also well aware that he would find a starting place hard to come by behind Spain international Gerard Moreno and the more experienced - at this level - Alexander Sortloth.

As far as Villarreal are concerned, nothing is certain at this stage, with the club well aware they may need to make a decision over head coach Pacheta after this weekend, should they lose again, and a new head coach could change Brereton-Diaz’s standing in the squad altogether.

Villarreal have no financial risk involved in the forward, given he was signed for free, and his future will almost certainly be decided by whichever head coach is in charge in January or beyond.

For now, any talk that Villarreal are ‘ready to axe’ the forward after just a few months are premature.