da brdice：
da bet sport： Saido Berahino is a curious footballer. After breaking through at West Brom and emerging as one of the Baggies’ most promising prospects for some time, the now 23-year-old has slipped off the radar.Not a transfer window goes by without his name being mentioned, though, although the days of Spurs’ countless offers being rejected seems a world away, with the latest suitors for his signature, according to The Sun, being Scottish juggernauts Rangers.
It’s claimed that the Glasgow club are eyeing a Bosman move for Berahino, whose contract expires at the end of the season, and a loophole in place due to them being outside of English football means that they would pay a heavily reduced compensation fee of around £500,000 – much in the same way they lured Jordan Rossiter from Liverpool for a price below his true value in the summer.
But, will Berahino be tempted by making a move north of the border? Although the Scottish top flight is now seen as being well below the standard of its English counterpart, we think this transfer makes sense for the forward, and here are THREE reasons why…
Shop window
Scottish football gets a tough rap nowadays. Once upon a time the game north of the border was, arguably, as competitive as any nation’s offering around Europe, but a lack of finances has slowly seen the cream of the crop move away, while the domination of Celtic has diluted the level of interest. That said, the Scottish Premiership does still get a lot of attention, with Old Form Derby matches televised and watched in vast numbers, while Aberdeen’s rise to become a semi-viable alternative to the Glasgow giants is good for the game.
In that respect then, Berahino could be putting himself in the shop window by heading away from England. There’s no doubt that the 23-year-old won’t see his long-term future at Ibrox, but with his technical quality likely to make him a standout name in the division and the division itself still possessing a decent reach, he could revive his reputation.
That leads us on to…
Dembele’s joy…
Building from the last point, Moussa Dembele’s performances in the green and white of Celtic have been notable this term. The Frenchman completed a shock free transfer to join Brendan Rodgers over the summer, spurning supposed interest from Premier League sides and some from mainland Europe, and it looks to have paid dividends.
Indeed, he has netted 17 times in all competitions, with his performances having already reportedly alerted giants of the English game such as Manchester United and Liverpool. This is proof that the biggest clubs are watching and with Berahino boasting far more experience than Dembele, there’s every chance he could surpass the achievements of the former Fulham man in the Scottish Premiership.
Game time
Should Berahino join Rangers, he could expect to be the first name on Mark Warburton’s team sheet. The Gers have quality in their first-team ranks, but no player in the squad is on the same level as the Burundi-born star, and that status could be just what he needs to kick-start a career that started with such promise.
Since appearing in all 38 of West Brom’s Premier League matches in 2015/15, Berahino’s stock has fallen in the Midlands to the point that he managed just 1,746 minutes of action last term and has been handed only four outings this season. At 23, Berahino needs to be playing regular football, and he would surely slot in ahead of Kenny Miller, Barrie McKay and Martyn Waghorn at Ibrox.