For the second successive summer Rovers will face strong interest in their top scorer.

With Ben Brereton having taken on the goalscoring mantle following last summer’s sale of Adam Armstrong to Southampton for £15m, his 21 goals and starring on the international scene for Chile has seen interest begin to grow in the 23-year-old.

Rovers have made clear their intention to take up the one-year option in the contract of Brereton to extend his deal to 2023, to ensure they can hold out for a big fee this summer as interest begins to grow.

There were no bids for Brereton in January, despite hitting 20 goals before the end of 2021, but that is expected to change heading into the summer.

La Liga side Sevilla have a long-standing interest in Brereton and look set to push forward with plans for a move for the 23-year-old.

It is also understood that Brereton has come on the radar of Turkish side Fenerbahce, with both clubs looking well set to be playing Champions League football next year.

Rovers’ play-off hopes took a significant setback after successive defeats against Peterborough United, where Brereton scored his first goal of 2022, and Stoke City over the Easter weekend.

The club will look to secure a contract extension for Brereton, but the mounting interest will pose a serious challenge to those talks.

West Ham United have tracked Brereton during the course of the season, with his 21 goals seeing him third top scorer in the division.

Tony Mowbray is well aware of the expected speculation, and said after the defeat at Peterborough United: “He’s been scoring for us all season.

“His career will go where it goes, he will look after himself, he’ll be in the last year of his deal and there’s every chance he will be sold.

“I’m not sure the owners will sanction that, but he’s a player that scored 20 goals by the end of the year but then got injured, and he’s been a big loss to the team.

“He’s got lots of talent and hopefully he scores more goals for us before the end of the season and let’s see what the summer brings for Ben Brereton.”

Brereton arrived at Rovers for £6m from Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2018, and after a difficult first two seasons at the club, began to find his feet last season where he became a regular in the side and scored seven goals.

He was then called up by Chile for the first time last summer and has since gone on to become a talisman for both club and country.

Nottingham Forest will be due a slice of any potential sale, though not close to the 40 per cent of profit that Newcastle United took for Armstrong’s sale, a deal which could rise to £20m.

Sevilla are currently fourth in La Liga, occupying the final Champions League qualification spot, and only one point behind second-placed Atletico Madrid with a game in hand.

Fenerbahce are currently second in the Turkish Super Lig, but 11 points off leaders Trabzonspor.

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