Report: Stoke submits offer for West Brom's Berahino

Saido Berahino, a man who seems to attract more transfer rumours than minutes of first-team football, has been subject to a bid from Stoke City, sources told Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett and Andrew Dickson.

The West Bromwich Albion striker, who has appeared in just three Premier League matches this term, as he overcomes the "most difficult" year of his career, has apparently been valued less by the Potters than the rejected £20 million laid down by Tottenham Hotspur 18 months ago. The same fate apparently happened to similar offers from Stoke and Crystal Palace in the summer.

Newcastle United, Watford, and Leicester City are further names linked with a forward once lauded as one of the most exciting prospects in the country.

Berahino's price tag has inevitably reduced due to the lack of game time handed to the 23-year-old by manager Tony Pulis since his wantaway antics during the summer transfer window of 2015. Most telling, however, is the fact his contract in the west Midlands expires in June. West Brom may have to cash in while it can, or hope that Berahino agrees last month's third offer of a new contract.

If Berahino were to sign a pre-contract agreement with another English club, his current employer would be due a fee decided by a tribunal, due to him spending his formative years at the Hawthorns. A similar case would be Danny Ings' switch from Burnley to Liverpool in 2015, which eventually saw the latter ordered to pay Burnley £8 million for the transaction.

But if Berahino opted to shift overseas, a pre-contract agreement would see a minimal fee received - or none at all - by West Brom.

"If we sell him we will work very, very hard to get a replacement in," said Pulis last week. "If we don't sell him, we'll have to work very, very hard to get him back to what he was 18 months ago."