Despite Ben Brereton struggling for form on loan at Blackburn Rovers, Mick Rathbone has been full of praise for the “great” striker and believes he “could be worth £40m” in the future. Brereton joined Blackburn over the summer and will return to Forest in January 2019. He’s made nine appearances in all competitions for Rovers but has yet to get off the mark.
It’s worth noting, however, that the England u20 international hasn’t started a league game for Blackburn this season, so his lack of goals isn’t too much of a surprise. Brereton has only been handed 186 minutes of playing time in the Championship. Despite this, there remains a lot of negativity out about his loan move to Ewood Park, but Rathbone is convinced he’ll come good in the future.
He said to the Lancashire Telegraph: “I know the jury is out in inverted commas in these early days, but trust me, this is a great investment. Please remember, he’s only 19 and he will get better. The way football is now, if Ben plays to his potential then he could be worth £30m or £40m. He’s a great signing but give him time, he’s only young.”
Brereton rose through the youth ranks to the Forest first-team in January 2017 and has gone on to make 57 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating 16 goals. The 19-year-old will have been hoping that his loan move to Rovers would be more productive, but he still has three years remaining on his deal at the City Ground, so The Reds aren’t going to give up on him yet.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Nottingham Forest loanee struggling for form, City Ground future in doubt?
