Southampton confirm Brereton Diaz arrival from Villarreal

Southampton have announced the signing of Ben Brereton Diaz from Villarreal for a reported fee of £7million.

Brereton Diaz, who featured in all three of Chile’s Copa America fixtures last month, has signed a four-year contract at St. Mary’s.

The 25-year-old ends a torrid spell with Villarreal, having failed to score in his first 20 appearances following his move from Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer last year.

Brereton Diaz spent the second half of last season on loan with Sheffield United, scoring six goals in his 14 Premier League outings.

During his time at Bramall Lane, he accumulated the second-highest expected goals (xG) within the Blades’ squad (6.07), a total only bettered by Oli McBurnie (6.89) who played in seven more games and scored the same number of goals.

Southampton were on the hunt for attacking reinforcements following the departure of Che Adams to Torino last week, with the Scotland international leaving the club having scored 48 goals and adding 20 assists in 191 appearances for the Saints.

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“I’m absolutely buzzing. It’s been smooth these past couple of days, and I’m happy to get everything sorted and signed. I’m really excited to meet everyone, it’s great to be involved with this great club,” Brereton Diaz said.

“Watching the club when I was younger, it was always in the Premier League. Obviously last season, the way the team played, they went down but they bounced straight back up as a team.

“Also the gaffer as well – everything has aligned together, and I think it’s an amazing club. I can’t wait to get started.”

Brereton Diaz becomes Russell Martin’s eighth arrival this transfer window following the signings of Adam Lallana, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Charlie Taylor, Ronnie Edwards, Nathan Wood, Yukinari Sugawara and Flynn Downes.