TONY Mowbray believes Ben Brereton will return to Rovers with renewed confidence after starring for Chile at the Copa America.

Brereton featured in all five of Chile’s tournament fixtures, their time at the competition ending following a 1-0 defeat to Brazil.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed time in the spotlight during his month-long stay with La Roja, scoring the winner on his first start against Bolivia, one of five caps he now has to his name.

Mowbray has always backed his £6m man, and on the back of a seven-goal season for Rovers, the manager wants Brereton to take his game to new heights upon his return.

He said: “Hopefully he comes back to Blackburn Rovers with confidence of doing well for the Chile national team and having enjoyed the environment of playing against and with such great players.

“He can learn from these top players and from a different coach, a national team coach, and hopefully he brings those qualities back and helps us on the pitch.

“We’re very happy for Ben. He’s a good human being, an honest hard-working guy and I’m just delighted that he’s enjoying his football and doing well.”

Brereton managed just a solo goal in each of his first two seasons at the club following a £6m swich from Nottingham Forest.

Expectation, and the price tag, looked to weigh heavy on his shoulders, but Mowbray said Rovers were always in it for the long game.

“When you buy a young player for what we did, it’s a lot of money for this football club at such a young age, so the expectation was high and when he doesn’t score 20 goals a season people can question it, and yet within our working environment Ben Brereton has been growing steadily and getting braver and stronger and more confident,” he added.

“The first year or two, he was a young player and the fans might say ‘that’s a lot of money for a boy who hasn’t scored many goals’, but for me, we bought the potential. We bought the player who hopefully goes on and has a really good international career and who becomes a big asset for our club and for his country also.

“I feel that the signs were there last season with Ben. As you could see from the number of appearances he made, he works extremely hard for the team, he has talent, he can dribble off both feet, he’s very positive and he brings a level of physicality with his size. 

“I think there are still growth areas for the man to come out even more – to be more physical in confrontation with other players, to stand his ground and be stronger, but I think Ben Brereton, the player that we signed two-and-a-half years ago, is ready to explode on the scene.”