Tottenham are leading the race to sign West Brom striker Saido Berahino and plan to submit a bid for the £15 million-rated Premier League star, but face stiff competition for his signature from both Arsenal and Chelsea.
This is according to the Express, who add that Everton have joined the three aforementioned Premier League clubs in the battle for 21-year-old Berahino, who has scored five goals in seven appearances for the Baggies at the start of this season.
Tottenham keen to replace Soldado
Tottenham are keen to replace expensive flop Roberto Soldado, either in January or next summer, and have identified Berahino as the ideal replacement for the misfiring Spaniard. The England Under-21 international has been watched three times by Spurs’ chief scout Ian Broomfield in recent weeks - and head coach Mauricio Pochettino is now expected to make a formal move.
The Argentine coach, however, will need to act quickly or risk losing out to another English club. The more goals Berahino scores between now and the New Year, the more likely West Brom are to receive tempting bids for their star striker’s services.
West Brom could lose Berahino
Baggies’ boss Alan Irvine recently admitted that the Midlands outfit may struggle to hold onto Berahino, but hopes the youngster will stay put at the Hawthorns, despite the recent speculation linking him with a move elsewhere.
"If Saido gets to the stage where there's a whole load of big clubs chasing after him - then he'll have done a brilliant job for us in the meantime," he told reporters "Then it becomes a matter of whether the club want to do business with anyone or not."
Berahino has scored all but three of West Brom’s goals at the start of this season, and will be acutely aware that selling him in January - without signing an adequate replacement - would seriously jeopardise their chances of remaining in the Premier League.
Berahino under no pressure to sell
The Baggies are under no obligation to sell Berahino after the striker signed a new three-and-a-half year contract with his current employers last December. The Burundi-born forward was only earning £850-a-week at the start of last season, but was rewarded with a £12,000-a-week deal before the turn of 2014.
But Berahino’s stock has never been higher, and he would earn another significant pay rise by sealing a transfer to one of the interested clubs in the New Year.
Chelsea may regard Berahino as a potential replacement for Didier Drogba - even though they’re very different strikers - while Arsenal are still on the lookout for another forward, despite shelling out £16 million on England international Danny Welbeck last month.
Is Berahino the real deal? Which club should be looking to sign him? Have your say in the comments section below.
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