Wonderkid #6 - Saido Berahino

Hello everyone and welcome to my latest blog post, where I have the 6th installment of my on-going Wonderkid series - looking at young players in the world of football with potential to be special in a few years. 

In this post, I will be looking at and reviewing West Brom's young striker Saido Berahino - who burst onto the scene with impressive performances against the bigger clubs in England and has established himself as a potential rising star for the England national team. 

Rising star: Berahino has impressed many teams in Europe, bursting onto the scene in the EPL 

Berahino burst onto the scene in dramatic style - scoring his first EPL goal in a 3-1 win, commanding performance and impressive display against none other than the defending champions Manchester United themselves at Old Trafford earlier this season.

Stunner: Berahino has scored 8 goals in all competitions so far this season

It took the 20-year-old striker a long time to finally get his chance for parent club West Brom, after loans at Northampton Town, Brentford and Peterborough United before he returned to the EPL side in 2013. 

FACT: Berahino has been with West Brom since 2004, as a youth player up until 2011.
FACT: He made 32 appearances for all three loanee clubs, scoring 12 goals in total from all his loan spells elsewhere.

FACTS FROM HIS EARLY LIFE:

FACT: Berahino came to England at age 10, escaping from his native country to avoid war in Burundi with his mother, brother and sisters.

FACT: He signed for the West Bromwich Albion Centre of Excellence in 2004 at under-12 level.

FACT: He signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2011, on a one-year deal.

As a result of his impressive club form for West Brom, he was later rewarded with a call-up to the England-U21s side for the team's regular international fixtures. Here are his stats for England:

England's U16's: 4 appearances and 3 goals
England's U17's: 12 appearances, 6 goals
England's U18's: 2 appearances, 2 goals
England's U19's: 11 appearances, 3 goals 
England's U20's: 4 appearances, no goals
England-U21's: 4 appearances and 6 goals 

Upcoming talent: Berahino has potential to lead the frontline for the England national team in a few years

By his stats and overall performances of late, Berahino has a lot of potential to fill and could easily slot into a spot in the senior national squad in a few years with more development... a move to a bigger club will not benefit him at this current point in time, hence why he signed a new contract deal until 2017 to end the speculation over his future - needs to develop into a top-class striker, has all the makings though.