UK Edition
Saido Berahino heads for Stoke City exit after drink-drive arrest
Saido Berahino is facing a summer exit from Stoke City after the latest controversy in his troubled career.
Berahino will be made available at the end of the season and is set to be fined by the club after being arrested on suspicion of drink driving in the early hours of Monday morning. The £12 million forward was taken into custody in London after speeding away from a restaurant, later claiming he was trying to escape from a gang attempting to steal his car.
Stoke will hold an internal investigation and Berahino is likely to be fined up to two weeks’ wages for yet another off-field misdemeanour. A statement from police said: “On Monday, 18 February at around 03:00 hours, police were called to a disturbance in Great Russell Street, WC1. When officers arrived on scene a car was seen to drive away at speed.
“The car was stopped by police in Bedford Square and a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.”
Nathan Jones, the Stoke manager, did not even name the 25-year-old in his match-day squad for Saturday’s game at Ipswich and the club will now look to move on the former England Under-21 international.
Berahino’s career has been plagued by controversies off the field, with the forward serving an eight-match ban at former club West Bromwich Albion after failing a drugs test.
Last season he infuriated former manager Paul Lambert with his poor timekeeping and was made to train with the club’s under-23s.
Stoke are currently 17th in the table despite a transfer spend of more than £60 million.