Ben Brereton’s international allegiance will come into focus in the coming days amid the prospect of a call-up for next month’s Copa America.

National team boss Martin Lasarte will name a squad on Monday for World Cup qualifiers against Argentina (June 4) and Bolivia (June 9) but is set to include several uncapped players in his ranks ahead of the re-arranged Copa America which starts on June 10 and runs to July 11.

There they will face co-hosts Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, with the top four teams in the group making it through to the quarter-finals.

Brereton has become something of a sensation in Chile since it became clear the Chilean FA had become aware of his eligibility and tracking his progress ahead of a possible call-up.

Brereton has represented England up to Under-20s level, but is available for La Roja because of his mother who was born in Chile.

The attacker, a £6m signing in 2019, scored seven times for Rovers in 2020/21, clocking up 43 appearances in the process.

The 22-year-old has previously been coy over his international future and links with Chile, but said he would consider any approach should it be forthcoming, and it is understood he is in contention for a spot in Lasarte’s upcoming squad.

After the South American Football Consideration announced the cancellation of the March fixtures, the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and Copa America are the first chance for Chile to name Brereton in one of their squads.

Brereton is under consideration to feature in the Copa America, with national team boss Lasarte having stated his focus will be on the World Cup qualifiers, which could see stalwarts Claudio Bravo, Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez left out of the summer tournament.

“The big goal is to qualify for the World Cup,” Lasarte said.

“For the Copa América we think of a mixture, giving minutes to those boys who have not competed or competed little. Because, in addition, we are going to need them if we qualify, in the World Cup itself. In this sense, we see the Copa América as a solution, not as a problem, and we do not think that this should harm the sporting result.”

Chile are currently sixth in the 10-team qualification process for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with four points from games. Four sides get direct entry into the World Cup, with the fifth-placed side going into a play-off match against a team from another confederation.