P
erseverance has always been
one of Ben Brereton Diaz’s
defining qualities. Whether
it’s recovering from the blow
of being released by Manchester
United and then Stoke City, or finally
confounding the critics at Blackburn
Rovers in spectacular style, he is not
aplayerthatgivesupwithoutafight.
That mental strength was clear to see
in his first pre-season as a Nottingham
Forest player. The club had acted quickly
to sign him after he wasn’t offered an
apprenticeship by Stoke, his hometown
club, and he was eager to impress. For
Jack Lester, the Under-18s’ manager,
one moment in particular stands out.
“We had a very tough programme
at Forest at that time,” he recalls. “We
did some character-building work up
in the Lake District. The challenge at
theendofthedaywastotakealog
upthemountain.Hewasoneofthe
youngest, but he was the first up there.
That always stuck in my mind – that
determination and resilience he had
to be a winner.”
Lester liked what he saw on the
pitch too. Brereton Diaz was a well-
rounded player with some promising raw
ingredients. “Strong runner. Very good
movement. Good feet. Good finisher,”
recalls the former Forest, Sheffield
United and Chesterfield striker. “He was
16 years old then, so he hadn’t grown
into his body, but I just loved everything
about him. I loved the way he trained.
I loved his mentality and work ethic.
He just really impressed.
“He never missed a session. He was
a joy to coach. We had a good working
relationship. I did a lot of finishing work
with the strikers, nearly every day. I was
strongwithhim,butheknewIbelieved
in him. That was important.“We worked on goalscoring,
movement, hold-up play – everything.
We did a lot of finishing work – scoring
from crosses, getting across people,
things like that. He was really good in
the finishing sessions. He hit a really
clean ball. He was focused and, with
the way he trained, he was always
going to get better. We were really
excited about him.”
Brereton Diaz justified the hype.
He scored 28 goals in his first season
at Forest as the Under-18s finished
top of their division. Promoted to the
Under-23s, he netted15 times in
20 games and was rewarded with
his first professional contract in
December 2016.
“WebeatQPRaway5-0.They
had quite an experienced team out
and Ben scored four,” says Lester. “He
was up against centre-halves who’d
played a lot of league football and
he ran them ragged to be honest.
You could see he had the quality
to cope with first-team players.”
When Lester and Gary Brazil took
caretaker charge after Philippe
Montanier’s sacking a month later,
Brereton Diaz was given his senior debut
away to Leeds United. His emergence was
one of the few bright spots of a dismal
season as Forest avoided relegation by
goal difference on the final day.
He contributed to their survival with
three goals, including an injury-time
winner against Aston Villa in just his
third appearance. AfterJack Grealish
was sent off, the home side made
their advantage count. Daniel Pinillos
cut inside to swing over a cross, Britt
Assombalonga won the header and
Brereton Diaz volleyed in off the
post to send the City Ground wild.
After being named the Championship