Berahino ´nowhere near ready´ to start – Pulis

Saido Berahino remains mentally and physically unavailable for Premier League duty, according to West Brom head coach Tony Pulis.

After a number of rebuffed approaches from Tottenham in September 2015 the striker’s stock has fallen dramatically over the past 12 months – Berahino blaming the pressure of media focus for his fall from grace.

The 23-year-old has only featured five times in all competitions for the Baggies this season, his last appearance coming in West Brom’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth on September 10.

In November he was twice sent to France in a bid to improve his conditioning but he still remains a long way from forcing his way into Pulis’ plans.

“Saido’s getting on with his job. We need to get games into him,” Pulis said of the striker, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

“He is nowhere near ready we think to start a game of football so it’s just about him getting games and that is what we are trying to do. 

“It’s both mental and physical. He’s trained every day and it’s now just about getting him some games. 

“We’ll wait and see [if there is a possibility of him leaving in January].Every window has brought speculation and we have another four or five weeks to get through that.”