Striker reveals how Daniel Levy’s £1m payment structure ruined his move to Spurs

One-time England youth international Saido Berahino nearly moved to Spurs in 2015, but Daniel Levy ruined any chance of a deal happening with a strange £1m up-front offer.

A big club move that never materialised for Berahino

Back in 2015, Saido Berahino was a reported Tottenham target under manager Mauricio Pochettino following a 20-goal campaign at West Bromwich Albion.

However, Berahino never made the move to North London and his career was quickly sent into a downward trajectory.

In 2020, Berahino revealed the impact the failed move had on his career while he was playing for Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem (BBC).

He said: “I didn’t know what to do, I got caught up in the hype. I didn’t handle the situation properly, I let it get hold of me.

“The people around me at the time didn’t know what to do either. Bad news travels fast.

“The media is there to do their job, they build you up and when you are ready to come back down, you will come back down like a roller coaster. I wasn’t focusing on the media, I was more concerned on my career and what I was going through emotionally.”

Daniel Levy blamed for the failed transfer

After originally blaming himself for his reaction to the failed transfer, Berahino has now explained why the deal actually didn’t go through at the time, despite a bid from Tottenham.

In a recent interview, Berahino said Spurs were willing to pay West Brom £20m for his services, but Levy wanted to pay just £1m of that fee upfront (Rising Ballers).

“West Brom didn’t want to sell me. Tottenham was another step so I just wanted to progress,” Berahino said.

“West Brom, the chairman at the time wasn’t vocal, just straight business. West Brom’s chairman and Daniel Levy are the worst people to do business because they do business their way.

“I found out that it’s because the deal on the table was really bad. Tottenham wanted to sign me for £20m, but £1m up front and the rest in instalments, and then they couldn’t replace me, so the chairman said ‘no way’,” Berahino added.

SpursWeb Opinion

While Daniel Levy has certainly caused several would-be transfers to fall through, this is one he probably does not regret.

The 2014 England U-21 Player of the Year, Berahino had a few decent seasons at West Brom, but his career quickly fizzled out after his near move to Spurs.

Berahino played only three more seasons in the Premier League, scoring just four goals during the 2015-16 campaign before moving to Stoke City the following season.

By 2019-20 he was out of England altogether, playing three seasons in Belgium before a brief return to League One in 2021-22. Berahino recently spent two years in Cyprus and is now a free agent.

In retrospect, it was a good move to not spend £20m on a player whose career never reached the heights of some of the hype that surrounded him.

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