Stoke City signs West Brom wantaway Berahino

The Saido Berahino reclamation project at the Potteries is officially underway.

Following an underwhelming and frustrating end to a 13-year tenure with West Bromwich Albion, once-prodigious striker Saido Berahino is off to Stoke City.

Stoke announced the move Friday with a statement on its website, with Berahino joining the club on a five-and-a-half year deal for an initial fee of £12 million that could rise to £15 million.

Berahino, 23, first joined the Baggies academy in 2004 after receiving political asylum from his native Burundi, and from there, a near-storybook tale began to unfold for the goal-poaching youth.

Successful showing for the club saw Berahino make his England debut with the Under-16 setup in 2009, before rising five more rungs to the Under-21s. There, Berahino bagged 10 goals in 11 outings and emerged as one of England's promising ones to watch.

Graduation to West Brom's senior side witnessed loan spells with Northampton Town, Brentford, and Peterborough United before Berahino made his first Baggies start under Steve Clarke in August 2013. With Romelu Lukaku and Peter Odemwingie having left in the summer, there was plenty of pressure thrust on the youngster's shoulders, and he did not disappoint, following up a breakthrough debut campaign with 14 goals the following season.

That's when Berahino's West Midlands tenure took a turn for the worse, with the club repeatedly rejecting offers from Tottenham, only for Tony Pulis to bench his star striker in lieu of the summer signing of Venezuelan international Salomon Rondon.

With just four Premier League appearances this campaign and a spell in France for fitness training, Berahino had hit rock bottom, saying, "It has left me feeling depressed and struggling for focus which has made it even more difficult to regain full fitness."

Now heading 45 minutes north on the M6 to Stoke, Berahino has a clean slate to again fulfill the potential that once pegged him as one of England's emerging stars.