United on alert to Albion's Saido Berahino
West Brom boss Alan Irvine reckons Hawthorns hot-shot Saido Berahino will get special attention from Manchester United tonight.
The England Under-21s international's six goals so far this season has led to inevitable speculation of interest from bigger clubs and will, Irvine believes, see him singled out by United this evening.
But the head coach, who warned at the weekend that a mooted £15million fee would not land the 21-year-old, is comfortable with the intense spotlight on Berahino.
"It's great for us to have any of our players causing the opposition concern in terms of how they prepare for the games," said Irvine.
"If they are having to worry about Saido then it's probably a little bit like we have got with a number of their players.
"We are clearly concerned about the qualities of Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie, Angel Di Maria and Juan Mata – they are not bad!
"Saido has been really good, although I am not sure it is time to mention him in the same breath as those players yet.
"Interest is something that could happen, there's no question about that but I don't want him to play poorly so that they don't come in!
Decision
"I am desperate for him to play really well and if that means that other clubs come and start knocking on the door then the club will make a decision on whether these clubs are making the right kind of offers or not.
"If Gareth Bale can be prised away from Tottenham, I think it means every player has got his price.
"Right now Saido's value to this club is going up in every way, financially, but obviously as a player on the pitch at this particular time.
"I wouldn't want to lose him but, at the same time, if he keeps on making the progress he is making then we will probably lose him one day."
Berahino's flying start to Irvine's debut campaign has banished memories of a poor end to last season, when off-the-field issues and a loss of form saw him grab the limelight for the wrong reasons.
And Irvine says the striker deserves all of the credit for learning from his mistakes and refocusing on his football.
"The most important person in all of this is definitely Saido himself," said Irvine.
"He is in control of how he goes about things.
"I am sure he has learned from different things he has done in the past, he will have learned from different people.
"He is certainly a lad who is doing everything you would want him to do at this particular time."
