Tony Pulis: It will be tough for us to keep Saido

Tony Pulis admits it will be hard for Albion hard to keep hold of star striker Saido Berahino if he enjoys a third impressive season in the Premier League.

Berahino, who came through the Albion academy, has netted nine and 20 goals in the last two campaigns.

His eye for goal and keen finishing instincts have seen him linked with a move away from The Hawthorns on several occasions as a result – the latest of which saw him rumoured to be closing in on a move to Spurs.

The club has vehemently denied this to be true though, and Pulis is determined to keep the England Under-21 international.

He said: "He's a good player and we are desperate to keep him.

"He's got a great talent and everybody hopes he fulfils it.

"If a top club comes in, as we have said before, you look at Raheem Sterling and eventually they have to sell.

"That's the way the world is but what he has got to do is keep working as hard as he has been doing, keep his head down and keep himself out of the papers for the wrong reasons and keep doing the right things.

"And once we get going and if he scores a lot of goals next season for us then I'm sure it will be very difficult for the football club to keep him."

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Berahino has looked lively in pre-season so far and he found the net in Albion's US tour pre-season victory against Charleston Battery earlier this month.

Pulis was also pleased with his showing against Swindon Town in Saturday's 4-1 friendly win at the County Ground, despite the striker being on the receiving end of a feisty challenge that left him on the deck at one stage.

"Saido was good until he got the challenge and then he looked like he could do something silly," said Pulis. "He looked bright and aware and he's been good."

Saturday's win, in Albion's first pre-season friendly on UK soil following tours to America and Austria previously, ended a busy week on winning note just a day after it emerged that a proposed takeover of the club had fallen through Chairman Jeremy Peace ended talks with his preferred buyer on Friday.

A deal had looked imminent after Peace entered into an exclusivity period with a party, strongly rumoured to be from the Far East, earlier this month but he confirmed on Friday that negotiations had been suspended in the best interests of the club.

Peace insisted the latest developments would not affect the day-to-day running of the club and Pulis said the news would not distract him from his preparations ahead to the big kick-off on August 10.

He said: "The most important thing is that we have to wash that away and focus on the team because that is the most important thing."