The date is September 2, the transfer window is closed, and Ben Brereton remains a Rovers player – until January at least.

Many thought, or likely expected, his stunner at Birmingham City on the final day of last season would be his last contribution in a Rovers shirt.

It would have been a fine way to sign off, making it 22 Championship goals for the season at a ground that arguably brought his lowest point in Rovers colours.

Brereton, short of confidence, game-time and goals left the pitch with his head bowed when substituted in an FA Cup tie in early 2020. That followed a chastening afternoon against former club Nottingham Forest three days earlier, with taunts from the home terraces about the price-tag they had acquired only 18 months earlier.

Yet there is some resilience to the 23-year-old whose Rovers story has more chapters yet to write.

He is up to 135 appearances, and 34 goals, in the blue and white of Rovers, but that tells only a fraction of the story.

Spending £6m on the undoubted, yet unproven, potential of an 18-year-old at a time when Rovers had only recently been promoted back into the Championship felt like a seismic moment.

None of us could have quite imagined the journey we have been on, but it has turned out to be just that.

From two goals in two seasons and a potential loan move to the Eredivisie after being dropped into the Under-23s, to a Chile call-up and one of the division’s standout players, it has been some ride.

Despite the price-tag weighing heavy and the constant spotlight that brought, there has been a continued willingness of Rovers’ supporters for Brereton to crack it at Ewood Park.

There was a sense that it needed to work given the investment, but while it sometimes felt more in hope than expectation, he has largely retained the support of the fanbase throughout his time at the club.

He has repaid that with his goals, performances, hard graft, and that trademark grin.

Brereton has behaved impeccably throughout the summer of speculation, continuing to train, play and put in a level of performance to which we have become accustomed.

Players of more experience, but lesser standing, might not have acted in that same way, and for that he deserves immense credit. His professionalism has never been called into question, as demonstrated by his match-winning performance at Blackpool, after which news emerged of Fulham’s first bid for his services.

Even during the toughest times, Brereton has never been anything but open about how much he enjoys his time at the club and how he loves playing for Rovers.

It goes beyond words in his demeanour around both the club, but also on the pitch.

There is of course another side to this story.

Rovers have passed up on the opportunity to cash in on a player at his highest sellable price, given the currently likelihood that he won't be signing a new deal. 

If anything, it will now become even harder for Rovers to tie him to a new contract given his upcoming free agent status.

The club committed a lot of resource to his signing and it would have been understandable had they opted to cash in at the first chance of earning some return on that investment.

By not doing business in this window, there is the very distinct possibility of losing him on a free transfer next summer, or a cut-price deal in January, unless he signs a new deal.

There was some surprise that Rovers didn’t push harder to try and agree a new deal before his international commitments with Chile began last summer, but equally the club will point to the financial implications of coronavirus on their finances at the time.

Yet throughout the window Rovers haven’t been pushed around, taking a strong stance that it would take a deal around the numbers that it took to get Adam Armstrong out of Ewood Park 12 months ago to prise him away.

No club ever really got close to Rovers’ magic figure, so in a way their hard-line stance was never truly tested, but would have been a more straightforward call for them to make had Brereton been demanding of a move.

The ‘sell him and reinvest’ plea from some was never likely to materialise, particularly not on deadline day.

Yet had the club been in a mind to sell, there would have at least been the opportunity for negotiation that could have eventually brought about a positive conclusion.

Leeds United, late on in the deadline day rush, were the latest to find that Rovers weren’t for budging.

While there will be delight that Rovers have therefore kept hold of their talisman, there will a level of concern about the impact that has on their future dealings.

While money from a sale might not have been available this window, could it have been put to good use moving forward?

There will too be questions as to how the club has found themselves in a position where for the second successive summer their top scorer went into it with only 12 months left on their deal, not least with three other senior players having walked away without the club securing a penny for their services.

Those are issues for the new regime to address, one the owners have backed with three permanent signings, as well as resisting temptation to cash in on Brereton.

With Brereton staying, three permanent additions through the door, options to buy in two of the three loan deals, Rovers are certainly putting their faith in the new-look structure.

The story therefore continues, and we can enjoy Brereton putting in more goalscoring performances in the coming weeks and months.

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