Hotspur HQ
Fansided

Saido Berahino No Longer on Tottenham’s Radar

By Alexander Balano

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Saido Berahino of West Bromwich Albion looks dejected during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Stadium, on April 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Fradgley - AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Saido Berahino of West Bromwich Albion looks dejected during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Stadium, on April 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Fradgley - AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

With last summer’s back and forth transfer bids between Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion remaining at a stalemate, Saido Berahino is no longer on Spurs’ radar as they have other targets in mind.

A once promising center-forward, Saido Berahino’s career seems to have stuttered after a falling out with West Brom chairman, Jeremy Peace, and manager, Tony Pulis, because his proposed transfer request to join Tottenham was rejected. Since then, both the Baggies and Spurs appear to be moving on with the striker being left behind.

Related Story: Tottenham Still in for Breel Embolo

News regarding Tottenham’s interest in the Burundi-born English striker seemingly faded with each passing month after reports surfaced back in March, that Spurs managed to secure a deal with the 22-year-old.

That of course didn’t seem to last very long as nothing else came to light on whether the initial article from The Guardian was legitimate or not. The author, David Hytner, wrote that the relationship between Jeremy Peace and Daniel Levy — and really both clubs in general — had improved.

Which is why a “deal in principal” between the two sides were accepted. But since then, nothing has happened and with a new report coming out three months later by the Birmingham Mail claiming that Tottenham are no longer interested in Saido Berahino, it’s official that both sides have indeed moved on.

TOULOUSE, FRANCE - JANUARY 13: Michy Batshuayi for Marseille in action during the French League Cup quarter final between Toulouse and Marseille at Stadium Municipal on January 13, 2016 in Toulouse, France. (Photo by Romain Perrocheau/Getty Images)
TOULOUSE, FRANCE – JANUARY 13: Michy Batshuayi for Marseille in action during the French League Cup quarter final between Toulouse and Marseille at Stadium Municipal on January 13, 2016 in Toulouse, France. (Photo by Romain Perrocheau/Getty Images) /

Because Mauricio Pochettino has taking a liking to Olympique Marseille’s Michy Batshuayi, the Argentine manager along with the rest of Spurs’ transfer committee are trying to land the Belgian striker once the European Championship concludes on July 10th.

In the meantime though, recently, Pochettino, head of recruitment, Paul Mitchell, and assistant head coach, Jesús Pérez, were spotted at a Republic of Ireland and Netherlands international friendly. There, the three men took an interest in Dutch striker, Vincent Janssen, of AZ Alkmaar.

After said friendly match between the two nations, Tottenham and AZ Alkmaar have been working out a deal that would see Spurs secure their first summer signing if everything goes well for a fee of £12 million before the start of the transfer window.

More from Hotspur HQ

Paul Suart, who wrote that Berahino is unlikely to make the switch to Tottenham in the linked Birmingham Mail article above, had this to say (slightly edited to be more precise):

"“Baggies’ chairman, Jeremy Peace, blocked the young forward from leaving, even though Spurs took their final offer up to £23 million, provided a series of targets were met over the four-year deal proposed.”“Berahino’s fall from grace from West Brom’s first team last season appears to have deterred Spurs who are inching closer to making Janssen their first signing of the summer.”“It’s thought Stoke City are still interested, but Berahino is holding out for a club that can offer European football and is unlikely to see the Potters as a big enough step forward.”“Spurs are also understood to be weighing up an offer for Marseille’s coveted forward Michy Batshuayi.”“Were Tottenham to sign Janssen and Batshuayi it would take their number of forward options up to five, with Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Clinton N’Jie already at the club.”"

Saido Berahino’s nosedive last season was his fault for sulking after his desired move got flat out rejected. Instead of trying to carry on with the season, he decided to say on his Twitter account that he would no longer play for the Baggies.

That attitude in of itself wouldn’t have been accepted in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. Although, it’s quite obvious that Berahino is still a young man, so his actions — while childish — aren’t out of the norm for someone his age.

Next: Tottenham's Pochettino: Everyone Was Too Nice to Leicester

Now that a proposed summer move to join Tottenham is no longer on the table for Saido Berahino, it’s finally time to put and end to this transfer saga that has lasted one full year.

It would have been a good pairing based on England’s Under-21 team, to see Harry Kane and Berahino work together once again. But all is not lost if Vincent Janssen and/or Michy Batshuayi come over instead.