New Stoke City Signing Wants to Help Struggling Berahino Find His Goalscoring Touch

After personal issues with West Brom saw his form to suffer, Saido Berahino has only found the back of the net four times since the 2015/16 Premier League season. The young English striker has scored only once for Stoke in pre-season after a number of defensive mishaps from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco making it impossible not to score.

However, with ex-West Brom teammate Darren Fletcher, an extrasensory understanding between both players has recently been seen in glimpses for Stoke during their narrow defeat to Sheffield United, where Fletcher provides and Berahino can't finish.

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In the early stages of Tuesday night's pre-season friendly at Bramall Lane, a typical chipped pass from Fletcher saw Berahino have a clear cut goalscoring opportunity, but poor control cost him a shooting chance, outlining the 23-year-old's lack of confidence in front of goal. 

Speaking to Stoke Sentinel Fletcher discussed his ambition in helping his teammate to resurrect his goal-scoring form:  

“We've played together for a little bit of time and so I know what Saido likes to do, just a pity he wasn't able to finish it."

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“It's important in pre-season to pick up the patterns of my team-mates and what they like to do, how they like to receive the ball and I how I like to receive the ball.

"I can see that getting better each day and with each game.

“We are a week behind Sheffield United and I thought that showed, but once the game settled down we were probably the better team second half and obviously we were disappointed to lose that late goal."

For Berahino to kick on and find his goalscoring touch, the veteran midfielder is certainly going to be a huge help in finding what has been lost for the last three seasons. 

With Marko Arnautovic and Jon Walters recently leaving the Potters, there is an opportunity for the English talent to gain a starting position in Mark Hughes' lineup at the start of the season, which will look to find the Berahino of old who took the Premier League by storm.