Tony Mowbray doesn’t feel the need to rush Ben Brereton’s development and admits his price tag is ‘irrelevant’ when it comes to picking a starting XI.

It is approaching two months since Brereton signed for Rovers on loan from Nottingham Forest, with the 19-year-old still waiting for his first league start.

But Mowbray is relaxed, having full faith the England youth international will come good and has praised the attacker’s work ethic in training.

The boss has asked for patience regarding Brereton whose deal will become permanent in January for a fee in the region of £7m.

He said: “I don’t see a rush for Ben Brereton. The money spent on Ben Brereton is not irrelevant, but it’s irrelevant in me picking teams because he’s going to be here for a long time and it will become a scenario where he’s if not the most important or effective player, then one of them.

“Somewhere along the line that’s what he’s going to bring and I have no fears having watched him in training he has the talent to do that. At this moment I don’t think it’s the right moment for him because Graham, Dack, Armstrong, whoever you want on the other side, the balance of that frontline for me has some chemistry, individual talent, speed, and there’s no need to go rushing to break it up.

“Let’s keep going, those guys have done a fantastic job in the last 18 months so let’s keep it going.”

Brereton has managed 245 of football so far in his Rovers career, including a start in the Carabao Cup defeat at Bournemouth.

He has come off the bench in each of Rovers’ last two games, with Mowbray opting to use him in a wide role so far, but does believe he has the ability to play in the central area.

“I knew when we were negotiating the signing that I didn’t think he was going to come in and hit the ground running and displace Graham or Dack in our team,” said Mowbray who rarely throws his new signings straight in to the fold. 

“He had to come in and listen, watch and learn, and he’s 19.

“Ben is a nice kid, he’s got all the talent in the world, we just need to be patient.

“It’s about accruing talent, and the day we sell Ben Brereton, whether it’s me or the next manager or the next manager, we’ll get a lot more than the money we’ve spent on him I’m 100 per cent sure of it.”

Mowbray says Brereton understands his position in waiting for an opportunity, with the boss relaxed about the teenager having seen his talent on the Brockhall training pitches.

“I watch him in training, he has two wonderful feet, can go past people like they’re not even there and pass it in to the corner,” Mowbray added.

“You can only pick 11 players. I don’t worry about it.

“I don’t think Ben is disappointed, I see in his eyes that he wants to get on and make a difference.

“I think he understands that it’s my shout, I can put him on my side so I can control him with my voice at times.

“He’s a good kid, works really hard in training, he’s got wonderful feet for beating people and scores goals very naturally.”