Notoriously, told he could be a "world class" player, but was in need of "direction" by his managerial father figure Tony Pullis during his turbulent stint at West Brom, the striker endured a self-destructive career. He was on the brink of an England cap, when he was at his best with the Baggies, but media persuasion , ill-discipline and reckless of field conduct quickly tarnished his reputation and potential. He epitomises a star who went off the rails and became delusional with transfer speculation, which left him with regret and pain when reflecting on his short-lived career.
From humble beginnings to the Top Flight:
An asylum seeker from Burundi, he arrived in Birmingham and spent seven years in West Bromwich Albion's academy from the age of 11. He signed his first professional contract at the West Midlands club in 2011, and was immediately sent out on loan to League Two side Northampton Town.
After six goals in 14 appearances, he was then loaned out to Brentford and Peterborough United, but both spells were challenging for the 2014 U21 player of the year. In 2012, his loan spell with Brentford was cut-short because he had an argument with first team coach Uwe Rosler, and then under Darren Ferguson at Peterborough his loan was prematurely cut-short due to a knee injury.
The 2013-14 season signified his break-out campaign, where West Brom manager Steve Clarke entrusted the 20 year old with the role of being his starting striker. It was here that the forward seized his opportunity at his parent club, in his first appearance of the season he scored a hat-trick in the EFL Cup against Newport County.
One of his memorable moments was his cameo appearance at Old Trafford, when he scored a 65 minute winner. Frenchman Amalfitano beautifully evaded a static Red Devils defence with his back heel, which Berahino rifled first time into the bottom right corner to give the Baggies their first win at Old Trafford in 35 years.
2014-15: A season to remember:
The Burundi international, began 2014-15 in fine form with an opening day double against Sunderland and he had surpassed his goal tally for last season by October, after scoring a consolation penalty against Liverpool.
The West Brom hierarchy recognised the influence Saido Berahino was having on the pitch, his goal contributions were lifting a limp Baggies side and they were aware that his stardom was attracting heavy interest.
However, contract discussions in January 2015 began to stall after the player was involved in a drink driving fiasco. Berahino was later sanctioned by the club, after he served a 12 month driving ban. This was the beginning of his downfall at the club, as his relationship off the field with Tony Pullis began to deteriorate and the 21 year old started to become distracted by the interests of Liverpool and Tottenham.
Shortly, afterwards he severed his ties with his fans, when he conducted an unauthorised interview, in which he expressed his desire "to move onto to bigger things". It was at this point the £50,000 a week star showed his selfish immaturity, where he was fixated on leaving the club and he displayed no respect or professionalism in his approach on granting a move.
Nevertheless, he remained in Birmingham and finished the 2014-15 season with 14 goals in 38 Premier League appearances, he was also the club's player of the year. This is where the tremors of discontent, spill over into a toxic battle because the club regarded Berahino as a key player and refused to sell him easily against the players wishes.
A path of destruction and the start of the end:
In the summer of 2015, West Brom rejected four bids from Tottenham Hotspur for the in form striker, as they stood firm in their £25m valuation of the player. Berahino spat his dummy out in a heated exchange, he was excluded from the starting 11 for being "disruptive" by Tony Pullis and then he was fined for his Twitter outburst where he said he would never play again while Jeremy Peace was West Brom chairman.
It begs the question, what would have happened to Berahino if he had responded in a professional manner and focused on his football. This arrogant and rebellious façade really did the former England U21 attacker no favours because all he did was isolate himself as well as provoke a media onslaught.
Later speaking to Sky Sports in 2019, he called his shameful tweet "the biggest mistake" he ever made and he attempted reconciliation with the West Brom fans stating "I would love to make peace". He always expressed that he was in a dark place towards the end of his Baggies career, where he felt targeted by a media blitz and struggled with depression.
That season he was outcast by manager Tony Pullis and did not play from October 31st until the new year, the manager was desperate to make the player see sense and hoped to re-juvenate him but Berahino appeared a lost cause.
He was sent to France to do extra training, after he had gained eight pounds as a result of his battle with his mental health and lack of fitness.
Eventually, in January 2017 his antic's had forced West Brom into his sale, as both parties seeked to end this traumatic love hate relationship and he joined Stoke City for £12m in a cut-price deal.
However the player ,called up once in 2014 by Roy Hodgson to the senior England squad , was a damaged soul and continued to get himself embroiled in trouble. Mark Hughes revealed that while at West Brom he had failed a drugs test after testing positive for MDMA and he was suspended by the FA for eight weeks.
He finished his first five months with the Potters without scoring and his woes infront of goal continued into the 2017-18 season, where he reached an unwanted landmark of not scoring in over two years. Yikes...
He ended up being banished by Paul Lambert to the Under 23 side, for his lack of discipline after the player had continually turned up late to training and showed a lack of effort.
Enough is enough...
His fall from grace appeared to be out of control, when he finished the 2017-18 season relegated with Stoke City. He remained with the club in the Championship, but could not salvage his form or his of field dilemma's and in February 2019 manager Nathan Jones was left with no choice but to drop him after a further drink driving arrest.
Eventually, his contract was terminated and he has since moved to Zulte Waregem to seek sanctuary out in Belgium. After a short spell back in England with Sheffield Wednesday he is currently playing at Cypriot club AEL Limassol at the age of 29.
Berahino is an infuriating character, because he showed so much promise and delivered in the Premier League when he was motivated and focused. However, sadly too often he was surrounded by instability at such a young age which sent him down a slippy slope. In many ways it would have been interesting to see what happened if he wasn't distracted by higher clubs or if West Brom had just sold him straight away, maybe we would have been privileged to see Berahino at his best for longer.
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