West Brom refuse to lower asking price for Saido Berahino
West Brom are refusing to reduce their asking price for Saido Berahino amid reports Stoke are hoping to snatch him away from The Hawthorns for just £5m.
Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace rejected bids in the region of £20m from Tottenham Hotspur last summer and Newcastle United in January.
Berahino had a frustrating season under Tony Pulis, spending a large portion of it on the bench and scoring just four goals in the Premier League.
Although the club are expecting to sell the 22-year-old this summer, they do not want to let him go for such a small fee.
Peace is willing to play hard-ball again, especially considering it's so early in the summer and Berahino has plenty of suitors.
And the club are also open to keeping the academy product for the remaining year of his contract and letting him leave next summer.
In April, a tribunal set a precedent when they ordered Liverpool to pay Burnley £6.5m in compensation after taking Danny Ings on a free transfer, a figure that could potentially rise to £8m.
Considering how much time and effort the Baggies have put into developing Berahino – as well as the large bids they have previously received for him – the club expect to receive more than that should it come to such a tribunal next year.
However, Albion are still hoping to receive between £15m and £20m this summer for their prize asset.
Watford and Crystal Palace are interested in the striker, and it's been reported that Ronald Koeman is keen to make him his first signing at Everton.
The Hornets claimed to have made a 'club-record' bid for Berahino towards the end of last week, but the Baggies deny receiving any formal offers so far this summer.
Meanwhile, Palermo midfielder Franco Vazquez claims Albion have made a bid for him.
"I will leave Palermo, my future will be 100% far away from Sicily," he told Italian press. "I just received an offer from West Brom that was rejected by Palermo."
However, the Express & Star understands there has been no formal bid made for Vazquez.
The 27-year-old attacking midfielder is on the club's radar but currently not at the top of their list of creative targets.
Reports linking Albion with PSV Eindhoven's 22-year-old full-back Josh Brenet are wide of the mark.
