Transfer News: Premier League champions Chelsea to compete with Tottenham for West Brom forward’s signature
English Premier League (EPL) club West Bromwich Albion’s star forward Saido Berahino is a hot property in the transfer market and Premier League champions Chelsea are set to join Tottenham Hotspurs in a race to sign the Anglo-Burundi striker.
The 22-year-old Berahino was desperate to find a new club in the last transfer window and was all set to join Tottenham. However, the deal fell through as the Hawthorns failed to agree a deal with Spurs.
Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino will be strong favourite to sign the Burundi-born striker. But, with Chelsea suffering a shortage of strikers in the squad, the Blues would love to gain hold of Berahino as well.
Berahino has not been in favour of West Brom coach Tony Pulis recently. Despite the Welshman stating that he would love the forward to stay, he will be happy to let Berahino leave for the correct fee.
Chelsea strikers Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao have been struggling all season to find fitness. Both the strikers are terribly out of form. Hence, Chelsea will be eager to add a new striker to their line-up and Berahino fits the bill perfectly, according to express.co.uk.
Berahino has a shot accuracy of 64% and has 3 goals to his name in the Premier League, according to squawka.com.
If a deal for Berahino is agreed between West Brom and Chelsea, Loic Remy could leave the club by the end of January.
Meanwhile, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is interested in signing Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli as the next boss of Stamford Bridge, according to The Telegraph.
However, Sampaoli has told Abramovich that he will only consider managing the Blues if the Russian brings in Arsenal superstar Alexis Sanchez to the club.
This might be a stumbling block for Chelsea in having Sampaoli as Arsenal will demand a huge fee if they consider selling Sanchez to one of their Premier League rivals.
Chelsea could also see their out-of-form winger Eden Hazard leave the club. Real Madrid are said to be interested in bringing the Belgian to the Santiago Bernabeu. The Los Blancos are reportedly preparing a budget of £75 million (AU $155 million) to lure Hazard to Madrid.
