Saido Berahino: Stoke star ready to unleash himself in the Premier League following months of misery at West Brom
Striker set to be handed new lease of life by Mark Hughes as he prepares to make Potters bow against Everton
MARK HUGHES says Saido Berahino is ready to unleash his 18 months of frustration — on the pitch.
Berahino could make his Potters debut tonight against Everton after completing a £15million move from West Brom.
The striker’s Hawthorns spell nose-dived when a move to Tottenham was blocked in 2015.
He did not play after being dropped by boss Tony Pulis in September and was accused of having a weight problem while refusing to sign a new £60,000-a-week contract.
But Hughes made it clear Berahino, 23, can make a new start now — even though he is likely to name him on the bench tonight.
The Potters boss said: “I’m not sure there’s anger from Saido, but probably frustration that he wanted to show people what he could do and maybe he wasn’t able to. But he’ll be given opportunities here.
“I’m not sure why he was deemed not fit at West Brom because he looks in good shape. I think he feels it was a difficult time for him and he just had to work his way through it.
“I sense he’s glad that that part of his professional life is closed. He’s come out the other side now and come to a club that he feels will help him get his career back on track.
“The reason he’s here is to make up for lost time. But people forget how young he is and that he’s been through quite a lot. He’s trained every day and looks really sharp.
“It was actually the rest of the team who needed to get used to what he can do, we haven’t had anybody who can make runs like he can for a long, long time.”
“The sooner we get him up and running, the better. There’s no reason not to involve him.”
Berahino often used Twitter to make his opinions known — including threatening to go on strike when the Spurs deal collapsed.
And Hughes said: “We have a social media policy whereby if people step out of line then we deal with it.”