West Brom the best place for Berahino, says Pulis

LONDON (Reuters) – West Bromwich Albion is the best place for forward Saido Berahino, manager Tony Pulis said ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

Berahino, who scored 20 goals in all competitions last season, has nettted only three in this campaign, although that makes him joint-top scorer in a West Brom team who have found goals hard to come by. Only two Premier League clubs have scored fewer.

The England Under-21 striker is set to face Spurs for the first time since being the subject of four failed bids from the North London club and threatening he would never play for West Brom again after failing to secure a last-minute transfer.

“Saido hasn’t been as influential this year as he was last year. He needs to get back to his best and West Brom is the best place for him,” Pulis told reporters on Friday.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men are on a 13-game unbeaten run in the league and Pulis has tipped them to qualify for the Champions League.

“Spurs have got outstanding players and they have been in fantastic form. It’s going to be a very tough game for us,” Pulis said.

“Spurs have a great chance of finishing in the top four this year in my opinion. There is a clear pattern to their play.”

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed osmond)