West Brom's former £15m striker agrees intriguing transfer move to second tier side

Former West Brom star Saido Berahino has made his latest move to a new club after struggling to settle since his departure from the Hawthorns. The 31-year-old has joined his sixth club in just five years and will look to step out onto the grass for the first time in more than a year.

Berahino graduated from the academy after joining the club at just 11 years of age, following his move to Birmingham from home country Burundi.

The forward spent 13 years of his career as a West Brom player before eventually making a permanent move to Stoke City in 2017. However, since then, Berahino has slipped slowly off the radar as he has struggled to establish himself as a permanent fixture in a number clubs.

Saido Berahino makes Slovenia second tier switch

Since playing for Stoke, Berahino’s form and appearances on the pitch have dipped. The 31-year-old was released with three years left on his Potters contract in 2019, he has since played for five different clubs and has now joined a new side in Slovenia’s second tier.

NK Tabor Sežana have officially announced the signing of Berahino on their Facebook page. The club have said the striker will ‘undoubtedly play an important role’ in their push to earn promotion at the end of the season. As things stand, Tabor are third in the Slovenian Second Football League with 32 points, just four behind leaders NK Aluminij.

Speaking on his latest career move, Berahino said in a club interview: “I'm looking forward to being part of a team that is fighting for promotion. We have a lot of young and talented players who have done a great job so far, and now it's time for us to come together as a team and pursue one goal - promotion.”

Berahino’s career since leaving West Brom

Berahino credits football for playing a big part in his integration into English society. After joining West Brom as a boy, he made 121 appearances for the Baggies and contributed 36 goals and seven assists.

Berahino was sent out on loan three times during his time at the Hawthorns and was then eventually sold to Stoke in 2017, at 23 years old. The Potters paid West Brom an initial £12 million, rising to £15 million, for a five-and-a-half year deal for Berahino.

After his deal was terminated by Stoke, things began to slip for Berahino. The Burundi international signed for Belgian side Zulte Waregem in 2019 before a brief move back to England with Sheffield Wednesday. The spell lasted less than a year before he was released, leading him to a move to Cyprus four months later.

Berahino joined AEL Limassol, which is who he last made an appearance for, despite signing for Indian Super League side Rajasthan United over the summer. The move to India was not a successful one, as Berahino has played a game of football since February last year.

His deal with Rajasthan United was terminated in November, with the director of football confirming to Sportstar at the time: “He got injured in an accident, and he has already left. We mutually terminated the contract.”