[Salopbaggie]

Look out for the special one from Berahino.  Don't blink or you'll miss it. This kid looks better every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl...-B-6BqEBvg

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

It's at 1:02 for anyone who wants to skip straight to it. Brilliant technique.

[drewks]

That's amazing!! The last one (2.40) is only 9.5 out of 10 after THAT one!!

[wba_1996]

For the U21's against Croatia last night he assisted the equaliser, won and converted the penalty to win the game 2-1. This kid is special, a potential 5 year contract is being talked about, expect a full England call up if he maintains his form, getting lots of recognition from around the world.

Its a win-win for us because even if the big boys come calling in January or the summer we can easily demand £25m in this current market.

[BaggieMan]

IF the BIG BOYS come calling in January which will happen IF Saido maintains his current form, we as a club and Saido as a player, should tell them to feck off as he would just disappear into a star-studded squad and likely to be lost as a top class footballer.  His continuing developement should be at West Brom over the next two or three years and he really could be one of the top players in the Premiership.  £25m now is a realistic figure based on his potential but that could more than double in a couple of years time.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Would they really come in as early as January? It would take football to a new level of insanity to start shelling out tens of millions in January for a player who'd only managed a few months of good form following a patchy breakthrough season. (Then again, I look back at that Liverpool/Andy Carroll pantomime a few years back, and admit that the precedent's already there).

I'd hope that the vultures would leave it at least until next summer and see how he performs across the season as a whole, but then, I also realise that part of the motivation for them isn't just securing themselves a new talent but also making sure their rivals don't get hold of him first.

Get him on that five-year deal and let 'em count their dosh.

[wba_1996]

Ska'd - I was guilty of under rating Saido until the past couple of months, but watch the ability he shows in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJp7d5xIPHk This was 13-14 and I forgot just how good he was last season, this season he has stepped up another level. I guarantee the big boys will at least be having a sniff in January if he keeps up his form, the likes of Spurs are desperate for a striker and I could see a few big European teams putting bids in as well. However, if that does happen JP will take them to the cleaners and we would have £20-30m to hopefully re-invest in the squad and improve our overall quality.

[BaggieMan]

"we would have £20-30m to hopefully re-invest in the squad and improve our overall quality"
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1996, don't you think we have enough quality already with the current squad? If we got £25m-£30m for Saido, would that be sufficient to buy even better quality players than we have now.  Time will tell on how the current squad perform but given their supposed quality, we shouldn't have a problem. Personally, even at £25m I'd prefer to hang onto Saido and maybe sell him for double that in a couple of years IF he continues to improve that way he is currently.

Happy Days !  

[wba_1996]

BaggieMan - Its been said that standing still in this league is equal to going backwards. I think we should always strive to improve the squad, if Saido does go then hopefully we will do what Southampton have done and invest the money from their young prospects into quality players who are as good as, if not better, than the players they lost. Would £25-30m be enough to buy better players than we have now? Easily... if we got Poco, Gamboa and Lescott for a combined £3m then what would we be able to get for 10X that amount? Look at how much the likes of Bony, Gomis, Pelle and Alderweireld went for... No disrespect to the players but I'd be pretty disappointed if the club felt that we couldn't improve on Dorrans, McAuley, Brunt etc.

[drewks]

Maybe slightly off the REAL topic of the thread, but after reading the last few posts...... personally I'd like the club to keep on doing what they're doing now - getting quality players in on bargain fees, and signing (relatively) unknown players with a lot to prove - rather than paying huge transfer fees for so-called PROVEN quality.
The reasons?
Firstly, we will never go to the wall because of over committing financially
Secondly - and ALMOST as important, is that IMO there's nothing better than competing against the big spenders and holding our own when playing a team that has cost probably 10x what ours has! Those wins we have had v Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd in recent years have been so sweet!