SAIDO BERAHINO says he “would jump at the chance” to return to West Brom.
The 26-year-old striker burst onto the scene with the Baggies and was believed to be on the verge of stepping up from the England Under-21 squad into the seniors in 2015.
Saido Berahino says he would jump at the chance to return to West Brom
But a sharp decline in form following a failed move to Tottenham that same year has led the once-feared frontman from the fringes of an international breakthrough and Champions League football to the Belgian backwaters.
Berahino left the Hawthorns in 2017 for an unhappy two-year spell at Stoke which produced just three goals in 53 matches and relegation for the Potters.
Now having kickstarted his career at Zulte Waregem with six strikes in 16 games he is open to returning to English football – especially ex-employers West Brom.
If West Brom came back for me, I would jump back as soon as I can.
SAIDO BERAHINO
Speaking on the Counter Attack podcast regarding that failed switch to Spurs, the Burundi international said: “I think the only thing that it changed was the way people viewed me. It brought in extra pressure that I didn’t need at the time.
“I think if I had somebody around me that told me: ‘Look, Saido, you’re not going to move, forget about it – you’ve already done it, you’ve already proven that you can attract a big club, now let’s go and attract two or three big clubs’.
“I never had that type of guidance. I just thought ‘wow, my life is ended’, really. “(I thought) ‘I want to play Champions League, I want to’… no disrespect to West Brom.
“I loved my time at West Brom. Even if West Brom came back for me, I would jump back as soon as I can.”
When Berahino was asked to clarify that comment, he said: “100 per cent. I love West Brom.
“I still support them, I still follow their games, my friend plays for them. If they came back for me, 100 per cent I would go back. 100 per cent.
“But I just felt that at the time I’d had had a great season and Tottenham’s come in and that’s going to improve my level even more, playing with other good players.
“Obviously the manager as well that they had at the time (Mauricio Pochettino) was really into young players, so I thought it would develop my progress fast if I went there. But obviously it didn’t work out that way so it is what it is.”
Berahino has kickstarted his career at Zulte Waregem with six strikes in 16 Belgian top-flight gamesCredit: Getty
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
