Joe Lolley, Matty Cash, Barry Douglas and others react to viral Ben Brereton footage | OneFootball

When Nottingham Forest sold Ben Brereton in January 2019 to Blackburn Rovers for a £7 million fee, the chances of him becoming an international superstar were slim – even though he still held a lot of potential.

Fast forward over two years though and Brereton-mania has taken over – but it’s not England he’s starring for.

In a bizarre turn of events, the 22-year-old is now representing Chile, with his mother born in the city of Concepcion in the South American country.

Brereton appeared many times for England’s under-18’s but when the opportunity arose for him to represent his mum’s nation on the international stage, the attacker jumped at the chance – and it all came from a social media campaign that was recognised by Chile boss Martin Lasarte.

After a much improved season at Ewood Park where he scored seven times, Brereton capitalised on his new fan-fare by appearing at the Copa America for Chile and even netted his first goal for the country in a 1-0 success over Bolivia.

Having played five times for La Roja now, Brereton is an icon in the country and his star has grown even bigger now as he’s appeared in an advert in Chile for the global drink Pepsi.

Brereton is legitimately a phenomenon in that part of the world and after reposting the advert to his Instagram account, the Rovers man has received a ton of replies, including from former Nottingham Forest team-mates Joe Lolley and Matty Cash along with ex-Blackburn stars Barry Douglas and Elliot Bennett, with current Rovers man Tyrhys Dolan also sharing his thoughts.

The Verdict

Brereton-mania isn’t just a big thing in Chile, but it’s caught wind in England as well.

There seems to be genuine intrigue throughout the Football League as to how Brereton has exploded in popularity and it’s a story that you’d never, ever expect to be told.

Appearing in a Pepsi commercial is a massive thing for his reputation and his experience this summer with Chile’s national team, which will only continue in the next few years, will no doubt lead to transfer interest.

For now though Blackburn can only capitalise on all the social media attention that their forward is receiving and hope they can bat away any potential incoming bids.