Southampton are on the verge of offloading Ben Brereton Diaz to Sheffield United.
That is according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook on X. He has reported that the Blades have verbally agreed a loan deal with the Saints for Diaz.
The Chile international striker, who cost Premier League club Southampton £7 million in transfer fees in the summer of 2024, will move to Championship side United on loan for the rest of the season.
The Blades will have the option to make the deal permanent in the summer of 2025. Crook has claimed that United manager Chris Wilder is personally pushing for the deal.
#SUFC #Twitterblades have verbally agreed a loan deal with #SaintsFC for striker Ben Brereton Diaz. It is believed the deal has an option to make the move permanent in the summer. Move driven by Chris Wilder. 0 goals since joining Saints for £7m in the summer. @talkSPORT
— Alex Crook ⚽️🎙 (@alex_crook) January 5, 2025
Southampton should have signed someone better than Ben Brereton Diaz
Southampton should have signed someone better than Diaz last summer. The striker did not have a lot of experience in the Premier League, and it was always a gamble to sign someone like him to be the main target man for the Saints, who could lose Shea Charles to West Ham United in January.
The former Nottingham Forest striker has made four starts and six substitute appearances in the Premier League for Southampton so far this season. He has not scored or provided an assist in those games.
Diaz has played 86 minutes in the Carabao Cup this campaign. The Southampton striker has not scored or given an assist. In 24 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career, the Chilean has scored only six goals and given one assist.
The striker is better suited for a team in the Championship, and he could flourish at United, especially as he already knows the Blades inside out. He had a loan spell at the Yorkshire club in the second half of last season.
Wilder’s side are aiming to finish in the top two of the Championship table this season. Diaz could help them. After all, he scored 14 goals in the division in 2022-23 and found the back of the net 22 times in 2021-22 for Blackburn Rovers.
