West Bromwich Albion head coach Tony Pulis: Saido Berahino not on Harry Kane's level

Albion boss Tony Pulis has told Baggies hotshot Saido Berahino he has "a long way to go" to match his young England rival Harry Kane.

Pulis believes Berahino, Albion's leading scorer this season with 14 goals, is not "in the same bracket" as the Tottenham youngster, who has netted 18 in all competitions this term.

The pair, who are England Under-21s team-mates and are vying for places in Roy Hodgson's full international squad, were due to go head to head this afternoon when Spurs visited The Hawthorns. But Pulis has delivered a clear reality check to Berahino by insisting that Kane currently holds the edge.

[related_posts title="More on Saido Berahino"]

"Saido has a long way to go," said Pulis. "I don't think he is in that bracket yet, he has a long way to go. Kane looks as though he is a lad who has bitten the arm off to get that chance and he is not going to let it go. That is what you want and you want players to have that desire."

[comments_cta header="What do you think?" text="Is Kane a better player than Berahino?" button="Log in and start commenting"]

"It is a wonderful game and a wonderful life and they get paid extraordinary amounts of money. Sometimes they get lost in the wash where really and truthfully their whole life should be committed to being better players.

"Sometimes they forget the main reason they are what they are is because they have been blessed with a talent to play football and they have to be reminded of that at times."

Albion's hunt for new signings still looks set to go to the wire after another of Albion's transfer targets headed elsewhere yesterday, with Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who had spoken to the Baggies about a free-transfer switch, at West Ham for a medical– just 24 hours after striker Shola Ameobi, who had been lined up by Pulis, signed for Crystal Palace.