Rovers have bolstered their attacking ranks after confirming the signing of Nottingham Forest’s Ben Brereton, on an initial season-long loan deal, which will see the move eventually turn into a permanent switch, in January, for a reported fee in the region of £6m-£7m.
The 19-year old, who ironically enough, will wear the number 19 during his time at Rovers, comes to Ewood Park with a solid reputation, having spent the majority of his career playing in the second-tier of English football with Nottingham Forest. Despite his young age, however, Brereton boasts some credible Championship experience, having played in half-a-century of games for the Midlands club.
Having progressed through the youth academies of Manchester United and his local side, Stoke City, despite not being able to secure permanent deals, Brereton found himself on the books of Nottingham Forest, after he impressed for the former European champions during a trial period. Since his signing in the summer of 2015, the Stoke-on-Trent-born forward lit up Forests’ academy side as he showed off his pace and his eye for goal, which led to him scoring 15 goals in 20 appearances during his time in the academy.
In January 2017, Brereton was given his first-team debut, as he came off the bench for a cameo role against Leeds United, as Forest fell to a 2-0 defeat. After making his first start for the club in a 2-0 win over Rotherham United on 31st January, it didn’t take long for the teenager to make an impact on the Forest side, as 5 days after the Reds had beaten Rotherham, Brereton came off the bench once again, but this time with influence, as he netted a 92nd minute winner, in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.
From that moment on, Brereton was able to establish himself as a key component in the Forest squad as he showed off his work-rate and his ability to unlock defences, by supplying 7 assists whilst at the Reds. During his time at the City Ground, his experience in playing full 90 minutes, was limited, having only completed 90 minutes in 17 of his 53 appearances, which may go a long way to explain why his goal record is stagnant at 8 goals from the 53 games. After only 4 months in the first-team and 13 appearances, Brereton was awarded with the 2016-17 Championship Apprentice of the Year at the annual EFL Awards.
Perhaps his most famous goal to-date, came for Forest in the FA Cup 3rd round in January 2018, a game which saw Brereton’s side lock horns with Arsenal and emerge victorious by a 4-2 scoreline. With his side 2-1 up at the time, Forest were awarded a penalty, which Brereton took and successfully converted, as Forest then strolled to victory.
In addition to his impact at club-level, the forward also burst onto the scene with England, as he and the rest of the under-19s England squad stormed to the u-19s European Championship title in 2017, a tournament where Brereton jointly-claimed the Golden Boot, after netting 3 goals, alongside the likes of Fulham wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon, PSV forward Joël Piroe and Brighton target-man Viktor Gyökeres.
After signing on the dotted line for Rovers and being revealed during the half-time interval in the eventual 4-1 win over Lincoln City, which took place in the Carabao Cup 2nd round at Ewood Park, Brereton spoke to the media team as he confessed his delight at finally sealing the move.
“It’s a very proud moment for me and I’m really excited to meet all the lads and to get going as soon as possible. It’s been a frustrating few weeks as I’ve been waiting for the deal, but thankfully it’s all over now and I can concentrate on settling in at Rovers. The move was a ‘no-brainer’ for me and I’m over the moon to have made the move. The history of the club, was a big selling point for me, as was the history of successful strikers, which is something I hope to emulate.
“In terms of describing my playstyle, I like to run in behind, off the shoulder of the last defender in order to create goal-scoring opportunities, whether that be for myself or for someone else, I like to work-hard both on and off the ball and I try not to be selfish, both of which have helped me get to this position in my career.
“I’ve been doing a bit of research into Rovers’ season last year, and they were quality. The start the lads have made this year has also been amazing and I’m looking forward to joining up and hopefully contributing to the success that the players and the manager have brought to the club. The gaffer has already started talking to me about ‘soldiers and artists’, which is a motto he seems to want his players to play by, which is something I can get on board with. He’s (Tony Mowbray) a great man, who lives up to the positivity that people have spoken about him.”
After Brereton had done his media duties, Rovers’ media team turned their attentions towards Tony Mowbray, who spoke to them about his latest recruit, following his side’s victory over Lincoln.
“I see raw talent that needs some guidance to become a real force. Although he’s 6’3, he possesses the pace and the technical ability to dribble past defenders and create goal-scoring opportunities, not just for himself, but for teammates as well. I think it was just too good of an opportunity to turn down. We had the money to spend and we needed to increase the amount quality within the squad, so it all worked out.
“We need to forget about the price and concentrate on the player. He’s a 19-year-old boy, and we’re not going to put all the burden him and expect him to win games on his own. He’s going to have to get used to his surroundings and fight for his place, whilst also working hard and becoming part of an attacking force alongside the likes of Danny (Graham), Adam (Armstrong), Bradley (Dack) and Kasey (Palmer).
“He’s a great kid who loves football. I talk about Bradley (Dack) loving the game and this kid just wants to play. We need to be excited about him, but we also need to be aware that he’s not here to fire us up the table single-handedly, because he needs time to learn how we play and how we want him to integrate with the rest of the lads. There will be games where he doesn’t start and has to make an impact, off the bench. There’ll be other games where we have to hope he can make the difference for us.
“We need to give him the time to settle in and understand what we want from him as a football club. Not only does he have to settle in on the pitch and with the lads, but he has to settle in his personal life, by which I mean accommodation. As soon as all that is sorted, he’ll be ready to put in 100% for the badge.”
