Why a Summer Move for West Brom's Saido Berahino Would Be Good for Tottenham
If Saido Berahino has a trophy cabinet, there may be an empty space he finds himself eyeing ruefully in the coming months.
His West Bromwich Albion side visit Premier League title hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night. Spurs are the club who—at least according to the Baggies and chairman Jeremy Peace (Spurs were less revealing)—bid repeatedly for the striker last summer.
Despite the difficulties of a turbulent season that has never quite recovered from his missing out on that move, Berahino remains a talented prospect. One there is still sense in Tottenham pursuing this summer.
For those not au fait with the broad details of the previous chase, it followed some familiar transfer beats for a while.
Nothing came of speculation linking the two parties in the 2015 January transfer window, the Mirror's James Nursey among those touting a move at the time. What it did, however, was plant the idea of why there was logic to Spurs' potential interest in the attacker.
Injury meant we did not get to see how Berahino did as a foil for Harry Kane in England's team at the European Under-21 Championship that summer (his ability to play both lead and support in attack was a big part of his appeal). But the preceding 2014-15 domestic campaign, led by a 20-goal haul, had amply showcased his more obvious attributes of speed, skill, tenacity and spontaneity.
The first public confirmation of this interest came mid-August via West Brom website's first announcement of a bid rejection. From there Spurs' apparent hopes (and seemingly Berahino's too) of an eventual agreement did not come to fruition.
"We are now left with the task of repairing the damage created by this unfortunate episode," said Peace at the close of the summer transfer window.
The success of that repair job is debatable.
After months as a bit-part player in Tony Pulis' team, Berahino has been reintegrated as a starter. But with rumours about the 22-year-old's future still abounding, it appears a temporary resolution at best.
It is an unfortunate state of affairs for West Brom and the club's supporters for sure, keeping their young prize asset who ultimately did little up until now for an unremarkable season (they are not mathematically safe from relegation yet either, making Monday's match an important one for them too).
With just one league goal so far in 2016, seven overall this season, it could be argued his career has regressed. Or that it at has at least stalled under a manager whose directness-inclined methods are arguably better suited to a more physical forward.
But even amid the personal despondency of a mostly wasted campaign, Berahino has still provided tantalising glimpses of his quality. Enough that Tottenham are unlikely to be dissuaded in bidding for him again by his struggles in an inconsistent West Brom attack.
Leading the line for the Baggies in Thursday's 2-0 loss to Arsenal, he was left isolated until Salomon Rondon's half-time arrival. His giveaway led to the free-kick from which Alexis Sanchez scored the Gunners' second.
Yet, just prior to that, Berahino's alertness saw him seize a loose Arsenal ball. His effort to get there brought to mind the fruitless but admirable running seen in the 2-1 away defeat against Manchester City two weeks earlier.
His initial deep-lying role at the Etihad Stadium had changed when Rondon went off injured in the first half. You can imagine Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino finding plenty to admire in the way he went about trying to make the tough adjusted assignment work.
Berahino's engagement of Nicolas Otamendi in particular showed his impressive forward instincts. Leading the Argentinian out to the flanks created a couple of his side's best openings, subsequently exploiting the vacated space himself or allowing Stephane Sessegnon and James McClean to do so.
It created (or exacerbated) a slight hesitancy in Otamendi and his centre-back partner Eliaquim Mangala, whom he also attacked centrally. On a couple of occasions, he created shooting opportunities; Craig Gardner fired wide, and on another, an exchange with James Chester put Berahino in behind, only for him to fire wide.
Similar flourishes and contributions in the 1-0 loss to Watford were overshadowed by Berahino having two penalties saved by Watford's Heurelho Gomes.
His record this season does not smack of someone who is going to bring goals immediately to Tottenham. Yet while those spot-kick misses were on him, it has also been challenging scoring in an attack not ideally geared for the sustained attacking football his close-contact style is best geared to.
Nonetheless, Berahino's previous work here and the still-evident surrounding qualities—nimble footwork, his agility and competitive desire—make him someone Pochettino can work with.
He would not be out of place alongside the likes of Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela and could even potentially speed up an already quick-moving attack. He needs to regain his scoring touch to become a legitimate alternative to Kane, let alone a reliable back-up, but playing in a passing team like Tottenham would help enormously.
The fact is, either defending or once again chasing the Premier League title (not forgetting their likely return to Champions League football), Spurs will benefit from new faces strengthening the healthy competition already in the squad.
Berahino feels like more of a project than last year. But so long as he buys into impressive work ethic Pochettino has instilled, the young and often thrilling forward is someone who could find a real home at Tottenham.
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