Ben Brereton Diaz's verdict on life at Sheffield United as Blades consider Villarreal transfer approach

Sheffield United officials have privately refused to rule out the possibility of making another approach for Ben Brereton Diaz next season after the Chile international's impressive start to life at Bramall Lane continued. The on-loan Villarreal man scored twice and added an assist in United's 3-3 draw with Fulham on Saturday, taking his tally to four in five Premier League games.

The 24-year-old has impressed fans with his attitude and work-rate as well as his goal return and in United's last two games, at Bournemouth and at home to Fulham which should have seen the Blades add more than two points to their tally after leading both at the 90-minute mark, has formed an impressive partnership with Oli McBurnie, also on the scoresheet against the Cottagers.

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Brereton Diaz moved to La Liga in the summer after his contract at Blackburn Rovers expired but he failed to score in his time at El Madrigal and joined United on loan in January. That arrangement was a straight loan deal, with no obligation or option to purchase the striker, but The Star understands that that hasn't prevented discussions amongst senior officials at Bramall Lane about a potential approach next season.

United's chances would be much improved if they secured top-flight football, with Brereton Diaz's impact in South Yorkshire unlikely to have gone unnoticed elsewhere, but that remains an uphill task after two late Fulham goals denied the Blades what would have been a vital three points on a weekend when none of their immediate relegation rivals picked up three points. The player himself has settled in well at Bramall Lane and admitted on Saturday: "I’m really happy to get a couple of goals.

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"Since I’ve been here the lads have been excellent, as have the fans and the gaffer. I’ve loved every minute here since coming in. I’m really happy for myself to get two but also Oli's one as well. More importantly the team performance was good but obviously we're disappointed as well. "We're focusing on ourselves and going game by game. It's another point on the board. I don’t know what the other teams did but we’re not bothered about that, we’re focusing on ourselves and keep moving forward. In the last two games we've shown real character to come back from the results we've had, and we'll keep going until the end."

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Brereton Diaz qualifies for Chile through his mother and was a late call-up for their recent clashes with Albania and France over the late international break, coming off the bench in both games to win his latest caps for his adopted country.

"It’s always amazing going away with the national team, with Chile," he said after facing Kylian Mbappe and Co. "It’s good to be a part of those games and against class players. I'm always learning and I'm forever grateful to be called up to the national team and it’s a massive honour for myself. I love it every time I go."