Everton have “watched” Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Díaz as they look to add a centre-forward to Frank Lampard’s squad at Goodison Park, talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has told GiveMeSport.

The Toffees currently find themselves in the Premier League’s relegation zone ahead of the remaining few weeks of the transfer window.

Everton transfer news – Ben Brereton Díaz

According to The Sun, Everton, Leeds United, Newcastle United and West Ham United are set to miss out on the services of Brereton Díaz, with Blackburn demanding a £15m transfer fee to let the striker leave Ewood Park this month.

The 23-year-old is now in the final six months of his £6.5k-per-week deal with the Championship club meaning that he can negotiate a pre-contract with a foreign side if he so chooses.

Everton are in desperate need of a striker addition this month, with Lampard’s only options for the number nine role being Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay, meaning that the club will be frustrated by Blackburn’s transfer demands.

Journalist Simon Phillips has recently told GiveMeSport that the former Chelsea head coach had put Brereton Díaz’s name to the Everton board as they look to add more firepower to their squad.

But Crook believes that the most likely outcome for the 17-cap Chile international is a move to Spain next summer if a pre-contract offer becomes available.

What has Crook said about Everton and Brereton Díaz?

Crook told GiveMeSport: “They’ve definitely watched Brereton Díaz a lot. Although I think the most likely outcome for him is that he signs a pre-contract agreement with a Spanish club and goes over there.”

Would Brereton Díaz be a good signing?

Brereton Díaz – who has been dubbed as “elite” by Gary Brazil – has enjoyed an impressive few seasons in the Championship, having scored 31 goals and provided seven assists over the last two campaigns, as per Transfermarkt.

It comes as no surprise that the 50-career goal star has been ranked as Rovers’ third-best-performing player in the second tier this season by WhoScored, having achieved an average rating of 6.79 for his displays by the stats provider.

As well as finding the back of the net, the 6 foot striker is capable of getting the ball up the pitch, as shown by the fact he ranks in the top 14% of strikers across the next eight equivalent competitions for progressive passes per 90 minutes (1.76) over the last 365 days, according to FBref.

Therefore, Lampard will be desperate for Farhad Moshiri to find a way to muster up £15m for Brereton Díaz’s services, but at the time of writing, a move seems unlikely.

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