Mark Hughes relishes fully fit Saido Berahino in Stoke squad
Sunday 22 January 2017 16:15, UK
Stoke boss Mark Hughes is relishing the prospect of a fully fit Saido Berahino in his squad.
Berahino completed his £12m move from West Brom on Friday, but sat out the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Saturday.
The striker made just five appearances for the Baggies this season, and had not featured since September because of fitness issues, but Hughes says he is a different type of player to those he already has.
Hughes said: "He is not where he needs to be at the moment in terms of his fitness, but we can change that around very quickly and he gives us something we have not really had for quite some time - someone who will play off the shoulder and, if he gets a chance, more often than not will take it.
"He is probably not going to be starting games any time soon but certainly he can have an impact.
"He has played games in the last month or so for the U23s - clearly that is not Premier League level, but he has had about four sets of 90 minutes in the last month, so he is not unfit.
"He's not match fit, but I think once he gets back into a senior group and is integrated and has a little bit of understanding of what we're about, then he's going to progress very quickly on all levels."
