Ben Brereton Diaz is wanted again, and Southampton get to decide how this one ends. Derbyshire Live reported on Thursday that Derby County still hold a strong interest in a reunion at Pride Park, with Sheffield United lurking, and the Chilean is keen on the East Midlands move himself.
Lovely for him. The part that should interest you is the leverage sitting on the Saints side of the table.
The contract is the whole story here
He is tied to Southampton until June 2028. Two full years, in other words, so there is no clock ticking down towards a free and no reason to accept a cheeky opening bid.
That counts for more than it sounds. A forward in the final year of a deal gets sold for whatever the market fancies paying, and Saints have been on the wrong end of that before. This time the club can name a figure and wait.
Two interested buyers helps too. Derby have already had a bid for West Brom's Alex Mowatt knocked back this week, so the Rams are clearly willing to spend.
Sheffield United know Brereton Diaz well from a previous loan spell at Bramall Lane, one that came with an option to sign him permanently and was not taken up. Whatever put them off then, they are back in the queue now.
What is he actually worth in 2026
Southampton paid Villarreal £7m for him in July 2024. What followed was 13 appearances, no goals, and a run of loans. Grim.
Transfermarkt still values him at roughly £6.8m, which is a forgiving number for someone who has spent two seasons away from his parent club. The reason is last winter and spring at Derby, where eight goals and three assists in 41 games dragged his stock back off the floor.
Across a Championship career that now runs to 270 games, he has 64 goals and 26 assists. Not prolific. Not a passenger either, and at 27 he is nowhere near finished.
Saints Marching has already made the case that his Southampton time is over, which is hard to argue with given how the last two summers have gone. He started at Colchester in the cup and lasted just over an hour before Cyle Larin replaced him, and Larin scored. Saints Marching also noted the pull of an old flame in Derbyshire, which explains why the player is pushing.
Verdict: set the price near that £6.8m mark, insist on a permanent rather than another loan, and take the cash for a squad rebuild. Southampton hold every card in this one.
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