Any chance of Ben Brereton letting any new-found fame go to his head will be quickly knocked out of him by his Rovers team-mates.

Whether it be for his acting in a Pepsi advert which has gone viral on social media, or laughing about his attempts at speaking Spanish, Brereton has been brought back down to earth.

But behind the dressing room banter is a huge admiration for the 22-year-old and his journey from Brockhall to Brazil, taking part in the Copa America with Chile and scoring on his first start, as well as clocking up appearances against both Lionel Messi and Neymar along the way.

Brereton has had to get to grips with his new-found fame, even though it doesn’t sit naturally with him.

However, the support he has enjoyed from supporters of Rovers and La Roja is something he holds dear. The reception he received when warming up ahead of Rovers’ friendly with Leeds United on Wednesday, the ‘Diaz 22’ flag that was draped across the Riverside Stand, and hearing his name chanted all added to the sense of occasion.

He was particularly grateful for that, and has pleased to see how the Rovers have taken to his decision to represent Chile, just as those in the south American country have taken him in as one of their own.

While his footballing success won his acclaim in the dressing room, his acting skills in a Chilean advert for Pepsi weren’t quite so well received.

“All the lads were buzzing for me, messaging me while I was out there, and they’ve been taking the mick out of me with the Pepsi thing and my Spanish but they’ve been great with me,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“Over in Chile the fans were supporting me, it was crazy, but I have to keep my feet on the ground and keep working hard. I’m with Rovers and want to push on now.

“I’m very happy the fans have been supporting me and my decision to go and play for Chile and to hear them singing my name. It was great to be out there again at Ewood, the fans were cheering and it was to interact with them again and I’m grateful for that. I saw the flag and it was good to be back out there.

“When I was over in Chile I was getting loads of support from the Rovers fans, saying it was their second country and watching and supporting.

“It was lovely to see them backing me even though I’ve gone to play for Chile and hopefully they can get behind us all this season and help push the team on.”

When coronavirus struck, and postponed football for some 100 days back in March 2020, Brereton had just eight league starts, and only one goal, to his name.

Fast forward 17 months and upon the return of supporters he was given a heroes welcome by the Blackburn End.

So can he quite believe the turnaround in fortunes at both club and international level?

“I would have said you were crazy,” said Brereton when asked if he could have foreseen how things have transpired over the summer. “It’s been a great few months for me playing football in a different country and it was a brilliant experience for myself and it’s something that I will never forget.

“At first going out there I was a bit nervous, how would they see me and not speaking any of the language, it was pretty nerve-wracking, but as soon as I met all the lads, the coaching staff I settled right in.”

Coronavirus restrictions meant interacting with fans during his time in Chile was difficult, but the La Roja supporters still found ways of showing their affecting for the ‘English-Chilean’, including presenting him with chocolates at the team hotel.

“I got given a lot of chocolates in the hotel, I must have had about 50 different boxes of homemade chocolate, so the fans were brilliant, it was just disappointing we weren’t able to mix more because of Covid,” Brereton added.

“But hopefully I get chance to go again in the future and we can interact and see them more.”

Contact about a prospective call-up first came after the win over Preston North End in November, but it was something Brereton put to the back of his mind for the remainder of the season.

He said the decision in the end, once confirmation that a call-up would follow came, was a straightforward one, a ‘no-brainer’ in fact, and while his time away with the national team was a ‘blur’, it was an experience he says he will never forget.

Not that he’s looking at his Chile call-up as a one-off.

He said: “I want to keep playing for Chile and hopefully I can get called up for the World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Colombia in September. I will speak to Blackburn and see if that’s alright and hopefully I can get another call-up, it would be a huge honour. I would love to play more games for Chile. I 100 per cent want to do that.”

Before then he will target a strong start to the season with Rovers who will look to Brereton to produce the goods at the top end of the pitch in what is an increasingly youthful side.

Although only 22 himself, with experience of over 100 Championship games, as well as a taste of life on the international stage, Rovers will be expecting more from their £6m man.

Alongside his work on the pitch, Brereton is taking Spanish lessons in a bid to get up to speed with the language which will enable him to feel even more at home around the national team.

“The language was difficult at times, the manager doesn’t speak the best of English, he does a little bit, but the goalie coach in meetings and team talks he would be in my ear whispering to me,” said Brereton, who is in the process of registering ‘Brereton Diaz’ with the EFL to wear it on his shirt next season.

“He’s good at English, but not the best, so I was getting little bit.

“I was mainly looking at the body language and sensing things, but players on the pitch, Claudio Bravo and Alexis Sanchez were helping me on and off the pitch, they both speak great English and were great.

“Everyone had a part with helping me with the language barrier.

“At the minute I’m doing a couple of lessons a week with a Spanish teacher so hopefully soon I’ll be able to pick up the language and be fluent over there.”

Brereton is undeniably good company, a mixture of poor internet connection, a language barrier with Chilean journalists on the Zoom interview and his positive energy made for a fun and entertaining chat.

There were message requests and questions about electric cars and the prospect of him becoming a racing driver, but inbetween came some serious football chat.

That included an acknowledgement form Brereton that now is the time to kick on in a Rovers shirt heading into his fourth season at the club.

He is putting any talk of his future to one side to focus on producing the goods for Rovers and rather than feeling fatigued after a full year of football, he’s refreshed and raring to go.

“Going to the Copa America and playing energised me even more,” he added.

“I’m not worried about being fatigued and not having a break, it’s all part of football.

“I can’t wait to put the Rovers shirt back on and getting out there and being over in Chile and playing against Messi and the like has only motivated me even more and I can’t wait to try and push on now.

“I’ve been here three years now, I wasn’t playing when I first came but last season I was, we started off well but then fell off with a few injuries and I think we definitely need to move on.

“That’s the conversation in the dressing room, we need to come together and be more consistent and for me it’s about getting more goals and assists and hopefully it’s a good campaign for all of us.”