Cardiff City should go all out to sign Saido Berahino next summer
According to the Daily Mail, Stoke City are prepared to sell striker Saido Berahino after the former England U21 international was arrested on grounds of drunk driving in London on Monday night.
Stoke have grown exasperated with the 25-year-old’s poor disciplinary track record since his £12 million move from West Brom back in January 2017 and the Potters are keen to look for potential suitors once the transfer window re-opens next summer, reports the Daily Mail.
Things have gone downhill for Berahino since he left his boyhood club, with poor form on the pitch coupled with disciplinary issues off the field making him an absolute disaster of a signing for the Potters. Berahino has struggled to hit the ground running at Stoke ever since he earned that big-money move, registering 5 goals from 56 appearances for the Potters across all competitions.
And it has once again been the same old story for the promising young striker this season. The 25-year-old has netted only thrice from 23 appearances in the Championship following a disappointing season in the Premier League last term which saw Stoke face the drop.
Born in Burundi, Berahino rose through the youth ranks at West Brom and made a massive impression in the Premier League in just his second full season. The 25-year-old caught the eyes of several big clubs with his heroics in the 2014-15 season in the Premier League where he scored 14 goals from 38 appearances. He finished his West Brom career with 36 goals and 8 assists from 121 appearances across all competitions, returns which are really good given that he broke into the first-team at a tender age.
However, he hasn’t lived up to his price tag at Stoke, scoring only five goals from 56 appearances over the course of two years. A player of his calibre is certainly capable of delivering much more and a move away from his current club should help him resurrect his faltering career.
To put things into perspective, Premier League strugglers Cardiff City should make a move for him next summer, with the Bluebirds in dire need of a quality striker following the tragic death of January signing Emiliano Sala.
Berahino is not the tallest of strikers but he is certainly very strong and powerful for a player of his stature, with his superior upper body strength allowing him to hold on to the ball for long enough. Well, that is certainly not his greatest asset.
A fast and agile striker blessed with quick feet, silky dribbling skills and subtle movement, the 25-year-old’s greatest asset is his pace and ability to run behind defences, particularly against opposition that play in a high defensive line.
He likes to take on the defenders with his sudden burst of pace and acceleration and his clever movement off the ball allows him to get into scoring positions inside the box. Furthermore, he has the ability to operate on the wings and also as a No.10 behind the striker.
To put things into perspective, he would be a welcome addition to Cardiff’s squad in the summer. Neil Warnock signed Oumar Niasse on loan till the end of the season but the Bluebirds need a permanent solution to their attacking woes.
It is a pity that a Premier League side have been forced to use someone like Callum Paterson as a makeshift forward, which further epitomises the need for a specialist No.9. To add to that, Cardiff can certainly do with a little bit more quality in the attacking third, with the likes of Kadeem Harris, Junior Hoilett and Kenneth Zohore not doing enough this season.
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And Berahino, with his ability to create space and finish off the moves, can certainly take Cardiff to greater heights. The Bluebirds have done really well to stay in the race for avoiding relegation heading into the crunch end of the season, and irrespective of what the future holds for them in the top flight, they should go all out to sign Saido Berahino next summer.
