Newcastle United offered West Brom double the money a year ago that Stoke paid for Saido Berahino.
It says plenty about Newcastle United’s desperate state 12 months ago that they made a £21 million offer for Saido Berahino (BBC)
Surely then it was even more remarkable that West Brom decided to turn it down, although perhaps not surprising given they had rebuffed bids from Tottenham six months earlier.
West Bromwich Albion’s Saido Berahino in action
Steve McClaren was still Newcastle manager at the time, and was fired less than a month later.
2016 went on to be a thoroughly forgettable year for Berahino who failed to make an impression on West Brom’s starting line up, and being sent back to play for the under-23s.
Last week Stoke City took the gamble on the former England under-21 international, paying £12 million for the 23-year-old (BBC).
West Brom’s Saido Berahino
It was a gamble by West Brom to keep him in the hope he would renew his contract and re-establish himself in the team, but one which backfired.
It was at least to their credit that they managed to get an eight-figure fee for him still, with his contract set to expire in the summer.
Newcastle were relegated to the Championship, but Berahino’s year since does not suggest he would have been the game changer Steve McClaren wanted him to be.
Despite their attempts to bring him aboard, Newcastle fans have been left with a sense of relief they did not compound their problems by adding Berahino to the squad for an inflated fee, while mocking West Brom for not taking their sizeable offer.
Here is a look at how fans reacted to Stoke sealing a £12 million switch for the striker…
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