Is Tottenham Target, Saido Berahino, Really a Problem to Have?

Despite all of his talent, is Saido Berahino too much to handle if he were to join Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window?

There has been a mixed reaction when the name Saido Berahino has been brought up. One side believes that Tottenham should sign him because he’s young, talented and English. The other side believes that his current attitude and personality — after being unsettled with the thought of going to a big club and having it get rejected — will eventually hurt the current vibe of Tottenham’s squad.

Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino has reformed and restructured Tottenham to not have those me-first footballers. But at the same time, the Argentine manager has found a way to deal with these so-called divas. Take for example, two players who wanted to have it there way like Burger King’s old slogan.

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So what did Pochettino do with them?

In Emmanuel Adebayor’s case, the Togolese striker was sent down to train with Tottenham’s second team, the Under-21s, because he refused to take a backup role behind Harry Kane. And, he was also no longer a part of the Argentine manager’s plans for this season after causing a lot of problems off of the pitch with personal issues.

For Andros Townsend, he showed some frustration towards Tottenham’s fitness coach Nathan Gardiner, after the 24-year-old was an unused substitute in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa back in November. It also didn’t help the England international feel any better to see youth academy graduate Josh Onomah, who is still only 18, get the nod to come on late as a second half substitute and help secure a win.

So what happened to Townsend right after this news quickly blew up a few hours after it was noticed? He was quickly dropped from the 25-man squad as a lesson that you shouldn’t put yourself ahead of the team.

Andros Townsend then took matters into his own hands to train with Tottenham’s Under-21s for almost a month now in an effort to get back into full fitness at an almost expected transfer when the winter window opens. It should be noted that he has been restored to the squad but has yet to make another appearance. Meaning, if you mess up in the eyes of Mauricio Pochettino, you’re literally finished.

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And now, when looking at Saido Berahino’s current attitude with West Bromwich Albion. The thoughts of not wanting to see his behavior ruin Spurs’ spirit, as former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp put it, is a very valid reason.

But at the same time, Mauricio Pochettino has already shown that he will not accept the kind of behavior that Adebayor and Townsend showed. In fact, it’s almost a death wish to even jeopardize your footballing career by snapping at your coaches, even if it happens to be a fitness coach only.

Now while there’s absolutely no guarantee that if Berahino joined Spurs, that his current mood would miraculously change from an abrasive striker to a team-first player just like that.

So why even attempt to sign him in the first place right?

Well, it has everything to do with his talent first and foremost. Managers always look for the right profile of a player to fit his team. That’s how they make their decisions to sign players. At 22-years-old, young, talented, English, a partner with Harry Kane with England’s Under-21 youth team. Could play out wide, play as a number nine or as a secondary striker. Basically, there’s a lot to like as far as fitting in with Spurs.

That being said, one mistake — albeit a big one in Berahino’s career right now — shouldn’t cast him in a bad light. If it does then that’s very unfortunate.

Even if he is a professional athlete and how they should hold themselves to a higher standard, everyone makes mistakes. It’s part of being a human. Unless of course you would rather be a lifeless robot.

But anyways, stop and ask yourself this question. And really think about it.

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Does one heated exchange on Twitter, where Saido Berahino is voicing his displeasure at how he didn’t ultimately get a transfer that he supposedly wanted when Tottenham came calling — even when he sent in a personal request too — make him go from a talented individual to a locker-room cancer who’s sole purpose is to implode a club’s changing room from the inside out? Really?

As ridiculous as that sounds, that’s exactly what this situation has now become.

Yes, Saido Berahino made a huge mistake in showing how frustrated he is. That’s an honest mistake that he now has to live with when trying to move from one club to another because it will be brought up by someone eventually.

But honestly speaking, he’s not a so-called diva because he is one. He got labelled that all of a sudden because he wasn’t granted something that he thought would have happened. Again, Saido Berahino isn’t in the right by choosing to do what he’s done up to this point. And at times players don’t get what they asked for, sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. But that shouldn’t ruin his reputation.

Rest assured, that if the Burundi-born English striker happens to find himself wearing a Tottenham shirt. His attitude won’t change because he’s finally in a bigger club who can play European football or that he can make the senior national team for England.

It’ll change because he’ll have at most, one more opportunity to prove his worth and any wrong move, again, could see him follow in Emmanuel Adebayor and Andros Townsend’s footsteps of going from starters to no longer a part of the team.

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Besides, if you had a choice of a youth striker, a veteran striker, a pure backup who wouldn’t start at all, or Saido Berahino. And factoring in every single detail there is, Berahino should be the likely choice, minus the high transfer fee.

He’s not worth £25 million now this season, but after last term he definitely was. When he went on to make 45 appearances, scored 20 goals and registered six assists in all competitions. The talent is still there, Saido Berahino is just clearly not focused and/or fit right now is all.