In January, a South American giant expressed interest in Ben Brereton-Diaz, whose future at loan club Derby County is questionable.

According to Football League World, Derby were in talks to recruit Brereton Diaz from Southampton late in the summer window, and they were able to finalize a deal on a season-long loan.

The Chile international forward hasn’t been a success at Pride Park, scoring just once in 19 Championship appearances, and it appears that Derby may be willing to end their contract with him early – and there are more than a few clubs interested in signing the 26-year old this month.

Corinthians join Ben Brereton Diaz’s transfer hunt.

Italian journalist Luca Bendoni stated in December that MLS franchise Toronto FC was interested in signing Brereton Diaz this month, with the Canadian club’s new season starting in March.

They appear to have been joined by a South American superpower, according to a report from Chile-based La Tercera – via Brazilian source RTI Esporte – with Corinthians joining the hunt for the attacker.

Brereton Diaz is said to have been’made available’ for transfer this month, and has been offered to teams such as Toronto and Corinthians, with the consent of his representatives – both of which are said to be ‘considering’ the parameters of a potential trade.

Given the nature of the season-long deal agreed in August, any deal to take Brereton Diaz away from Derby would require Southampton’s approval, but this is unlikely to be an issue if the contributions made by another club are equal to what the Rams have been paying for the 40-cap international.

Derby County letting Ben Brereton Diaz go could give John Eustace room to manoeuvre in January.

According to Capology, Derby is expected to pay £25,000 of Brereton Diaz’s £35,000-per-week salary, thus a significant portion of the payroll burden may be reduced if a deal for the Chilean is reached.

Even though he’s playing regularly under John Eustace, Brereton’s time at Pride Park isn’t going well, and a move across the Atlantic to either Canada or Brazil might provide him a fresh start.

It’s easy to forget that Brereton Diaz is still only 26 years old, which is surprising given how long he’s been around since his Nottingham Forest breakthrough, but he hasn’t shown anywhere near the goalscoring abilities he did at Blackburn Rovers, which landed him a move to Villarreal in La Liga.

If Eustace wants to bring in more of a goalscoring threat at Derby this month, he should try to work with Southampton to find Brereton Diaz a new club – and with Corinthians now rumored to be in the running, this may happen sooner rather than later.