Saido Berahino is yet to make an impact after swapping West Brom for Stoke.
Saido Berahino has made four substitute appearances since joining Stoke City
It’s a month and a half since Stoke City paid £12 million, according to the Guardian, to sign Saido Berahino, but fans are still waiting to see him make an impact on the pitch.
Despite Stoke scoring only five goals in six games since his arrival, and just one of them coming form a striker, he has made only fleeting appearances as a late substitute.
Given that Mark Hughes and the club pursued the player for multiple transfer windows and decided it was worth paying an eight-figure fee despite the forward being out of contract in the summer, Berahino is clearly someone they rate very highly.
This, combined with Stoke’s season-long struggle to have a striker playing at the same level as their wingers, makes his lack of playing time surprising and somewhat concerning.
A slow start was probably to be expected, as fitness concerns and had severely limited the amount of football Berahino played before the move, but not this slow.
Berahino watches Mousa Dembele dribble away
He’s 23 and was clearly a long-term purchase, but with attack such an obvious position of weakness for Stoke it isn’t unreasonable to expect someone who cost as much money as he did to have made a more significant impact.
With all drama that’s surrounded his career it’s imperative that he starts to perform. Until then, questions about his weight and attitude will persist and Potters fans will be left wondering whether he’s another costly flop.
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