Ben Brereton’s prospective call-up to the Chile national team has been met with curiosity by fans, and journalists, following La Rioja.

It is understood Brereton is under consideration for selection in Martín Lasarte’s squad that he will name for the month-long tournament.

That would see Brereton pledge his international allegiance to the country where his mother was born, having represented England up to Under-20s level.

Brereton has become something of a social media sensation in the south American country since details of his eligibility became known, and with their March fixtures cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, upcoming World Cup qualifiers, and next month’s Copa America offer Lasarte the first chance to hand Brereton a call-up.

With the national team boss set to hand time off to several of the country’s more senior players in the tournament that starts on June 10, Brereton could be set for his first involvement in the national team.

Journalist Christian Ovalle Ríos, from new publication Bio Bio Chile, says supporters are keen to learn more about Brereton, not least given their worries about the next generation of talent coming through to follow the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal.

He told the Lancashire Telegraph: “The truth is that in Chile most of the people don't know him and obviously they don't watch him play.

“But a lot of fans are open to see some new players, especially in forward positions. The last nice striker the national team had was Eduardo Vargas (that played for QPR in England), but since a few years ago he had not be in the form fans expect.

“Before Lasarte, Reinaldo Rueda tried to find a younger good number nine, but he couldn't.

“Another factor is that after the gold generation of Chilean players (Alexis Sánchez, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Bravo, Gary Medel, etc) Chilean fans are worried because they don't see replacements or young players that can keep the level the team had, qualifying for two World Cups in a row and winning the first Copa América in the national team’s history in 2015 and 2016.

“In this sense, people want to watch these type of players that were not born in Chile and can play for the national team.”

Chile will name their latest squad on Monday ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Argentina (June 4) and Bolivia (June 9). 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.

In the Copa America, they will face co-hosts Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, with the top four teams in the group qualifying for the last eight.