Saido Berahino’s immediate future remains at West Bromwich Albion after the unsettled striker’s latest attempt to leave was thwarted by eagle-eyed ground staff.
The Burundi-born marksman has been on the lookout for an escape route from The Hawthorns since August 2015 when the club rejected a bid from Tottenham Hotspur, and his efforts to leave the club have become increasingly desperate.
Having seen transfer requests knocked back, the 23-year-old took a more direct route and changed into an Everton tracksuit to board their bus after the Toffees’ 2-1 win in the West Midlands, only to be snitched on by Salomon Rondon.
Then, on a routine scan of the Hawthorns’ dressing rooms before locking up, a groundsman was shocked to find a 100-metre-long tunnel had been dug out of a wall, seemingly with a shin pad.
“My jailor [Tony Pulis] keeps telling me that if I behave well my sentence [contract] will be over before I know it,” Berahino told FourFourTwo.
“But I don’t believe him. I bet he told Prisoner No.7 [James Morrison] that and he’s done nearly 10 years of hard time.
“I’ve become unsettled, I’ve issued a come get me plea, I’ve refused to celebrate scoring, what more do I have to do?
“I’m pretty sure this is against the terms of the Geneva Convention. Although, that said, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of legislation relating to prisoners being paid tens of thousands of pounds per week.”
Offer they can't refuse
“We’re not keeping Saido hostage here,” director Richard Garlick told FFT with a genial chuckle.
“He’s free to leave whenever we receive an offer in excess of £100 million for him.”
Garlick was then called away to take a photograph of Berahino holding a copy of the day’s newspaper to send to Stoke City.
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