Summary
Saido Berahino was once believed to be a future star in English football.
The striker was previously linked with the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal.
Nowadays, Berahino can be found playing in the Slovenian second tier.
A footballer's career is not one that is always easy to navigate. While the players who are able to play at the very highest level manage to do so while maintaining a level of consistency that is unmatched, others reach their peak and have to capitalise quickly before heading on a downward spiral that they are never able to recover from.
That can be said of Saido Berahino. At one point in time, the young striker was the future of English football, bagging goals in the Premier League with aspirations of a move further up the table that no doubt would have helped him land countless England caps and multiple winners' medals in his career. However, a combination of failed moves and a questionable attitude prevented that from happening.
Berahino's story is a word of warning to those trying to break through at the top level of the English game as to what can happen if you don't capitalise when your stock is at its highest. Now 31 years old, the striker's career has taken an unexpected turn that nobody would have predicted when he was making all the right noises a decade ago.
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Saido Berahino's Early Career
The striker starred for West Brom in his early twenties
Saido Berahino
Berahino came through West Bromwich Albion's academy at a time when the Baggies were known to have had some very reputable strikers at their disposal. Between 2012-2014, the likes of Romelu Lukaku and former Premier League Golden Boot winner Nicolas Anelka had appeared for the Hawthorns. But it was Berahino who caught the eye the most.
While Lukaku was very impressive during his temporary spell at the club, the fact that West Brom had such a promising forward contracted to them was incredibly exciting. This was only amplified further in an incredible 2014/15 season, where the future Burundi international grabbed 20 goals in all competitions, including 11 in the league for a West Brom side that was never pushing past mid-table at best.
Saido Berahino 2014/15 Season
Competition
Premier League
FA Cup
EFL Cup
All Comps
This led to some reported interest from some of the country's biggest teams, with the Metro claiming back in 2015 that Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Newcastle were all after Berahino's signature. None of those moves came to fruition, though, and the striker was left frustrated and never managed to replicate similar numbers at the Hawthorns.
The following campaign, he put up just nine goals in all competitions, followed by just six the next season, during which he also received a doping ban for having a drink spiked in a nightclub and made a move to Stoke City midway through that year.
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Saido Berhaino's Career Now
The striker has just made a move to Slovenia
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Berahino's move to the Potters was designed to reignite his Premier League career and prove he could compete at the highest level after showing flashes of brilliance two years earlier. However, he wasn't able to get the same tune out of himself. By August 2019, he was out the door at the Britannia, having scored just three domestic league goals – those coming in the Championship after Stoke had been relegated.
After two years of bouncing around Belgium, Berahino returned to English football to join Sheffield Wednesday in 2021. While he was able to get a bit more consistent game time, he managed just 36 appearances, scoring nine goals and adding a further four assists.
He went abroad once again, this time to Cyprus giants AEL Limassol, before making a shock move to Indian side Rajasthan United. Just months after that switch, though, he was released from his contract, with the club revealing he had been involved in an 'accident,' though the striker has insisted it was because his family was uncomfortable living in the country.
Fast-forward to the current day, and Berahino has just signed with Slovenian outfit Tabor Sezana and admitted to Sportsbloom that he has plenty of career regrets.
"I one hundred percent have career regrets. If I could roll back the years, I would have listened more to the people around me, especially my handlers. Sometimes I would take their advice, sometimes I couldn't. Lack of a support system to guide me didn't help my case as well.
"Footballers should shun the culture of cutting through the corners. Young players should be encouraged to trust the process and build their careers day by day."
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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 07/03/2025.