Kamara: West Brom have proved that they don’t need Berahino
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After a summer outburst in which he said that he would never play for the club again, Saido Berahino’s name has crept up in relation to a potential January transfer.
The papers are reporting that West Brom are holding out for £30m for the striker, but with clubs not willing to meet that valuation I think now is the time for the Baggies to just bite the bullet and cash in on the player.
The lad’s not done himself any favours, that’s for certain. Tony Pulis has hardly picked him recently so his value can’t have gone up in the time since the last transfer window.
Do they really want him there past the deadline? Pulis has proved that West Brom can live without him this season.
He hasn’t started any of the Baggies’ last 12 games in all competitions, and they have lost just three of those fixtures.
They look in a good position to avoid the drop from the Premier League, and haven’t needed to rely on the 22-year-old whatsoever.
It’s a strange situation though.
The club obviously don’t want to show that player power rules and that he can hold the club to ransom, as he has obviously tried to force the issue before, but you’ve also got to be sensible in this case.
West Brom need to look at what they could do with the money they would get for Berahino from the likes of Newcastle and Tottenham in January, they could really strengthen.
There are plenty of other options out there that they could replace him with if bringing in the £18m that is being mooted as the figure the Magpies are willing to pay.
Charlie Austin may have been a special case with his contract running out in the summer, but with QPR wanting to get anything they could for him, he was available for as little as £4m.
Obviously they might not be able to get such a deal, but the point remains there are plenty of good strikers out there that want to come and play for West Brom.
The saga seemed to reach a crescendo in the summer and for me, now is the time for the Baggies to cash in on their wantaway striker.
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