Berahino closes in on England cap
Ten matches into the new Premier League season, the leading English goalscorer is Saido Berahino of West Brom.
The 21- year-old is yet to make his International debut but it can surely only be a matter of time before Roy Hodgson gives him his first cap. Berahino has been making the headlines all season for the Baggies but was in the news for a different reason after last weekend’s 1-0 win at Leicester.
He was caught by the elbow of Leicester defender Marcin Wasilewski, an incident apparently overlooked by referee, Stuart Attwell. Berahino had undoubtedly been given a rough workout by Leicester’s defence with the Premiership now fully aware of his capabilities in front of goal.
It needed a slice of luck for Albion to break the deadlock but Berahino was involved in the build-up. The victory was enough for his side to move into the relative comfort of mid-table and keep their midlands rivals rooted in the bottom three.
He has formed a useful partnership with Stéphane Sessègnon up front and has scored seven goals in the Premiership already this season. His nearest English pursuer is QPR’s Charlie Austin who scored his fifth at Stamford Bridge in the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.
England have a Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia followed by a friendly in Scotland later this month and many pundits believe that Berahino should be given his chance. Born in Burundi, he has scored ten goals in just thirteen appearances for England at Under-21 level but has had to work hard to secure his place in the Albion line-up.
He was sent out on loan to Northampton, Brentford and Peterborough after working his way up from the youth team. He made his first start for the Baggies against Newport County in the League Cup and scored a hat-trick. He drew further attention to his talent when scoring in West Brom’s 2-1 win at Manchester United in September last year and his contracted was extended to 2017 shortly afterwards.
He is been in terrific form this season, scoring twice in the opening match of the season against Sunderland and adding two more in the 4-0 win over Burnley. He scored against Manchester United again in the 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns in October and has also converted penalty kicks against Liverpool and Crystal Palace. The spot-kick against Palace came deep into stoppage time and it was tucked away with all of the experience of a seasoned professional. It can surely only be a matter of time before he represents England at full International level.
