‘Could well prove to be a masterstroke’ – Sheffield Wednesday seal shock transfer: The verdict | OneFootball

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Football League World

·1 September 2021

‘Could well prove to be a masterstroke’ – Sheffield Wednesday seal shock transfer: The verdict

Article image:‘Could well prove to be a masterstroke’ – Sheffield Wednesday seal shock transfer: The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield Wednesday managed to secure the ambitious signing of Saido Berahino on the final day of the transfer window to round off their summer business in style.


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Berahino arrived on a permanent deal after a stint in Belgium with Zulte Waregem where he managed to get his career back on track after a very poor spell with Stoke City.

At one stage in his career, Berahino was regarded as one of the best young talents in the country when he burst onto the scene at West Brom.

However, he returns to England needing to show that he can still get to the levels that he seemed capable of a few years ago.

Darren Moore knows the forward well from his time working alongside him at West Brom. Therefore he might be able to get the best out of him this season in League One.

With that in mind, we have asked our FLW writers whether they feel Berahino can fire Sheffield Wednesday to promotion this term…

Sam Rourke

It’s a very interesting and unexpected signing this.

Berahino obviously shot onto the scene with West Brom after a series of impressive displays in the Premier League.

Once linked with a plethora of top-flight sides, his career has dramatically nose-dived and he’s struggled to emulate any of his former successes at Stoke or in Belgium where he’s been most recently.

Ultimately, I don’t think the addition of Berahino will necessarily fire the Owls to promotion but he could prove to be a key cog, should Darren Moore get the best out of the 28-year-old.

Moore knows the player well from their time at the Baggies together, and the Owls boss has explained how the striker has unfinished business in England.

If Berahino can get his head switched on and feel that confidence again, it could well prove to be a masterstroke but right now it’s just too hard to say what sort of impact the striker will have in League One with the Owls.

12 of these 25 Sheffield Wednesday facts are fake – Can you identify them?

1 of 25

1. Wednesday's record attendance (72,841) came in a game against Leeds United

Fake

Not fake

Adam Jones

Heavily sceptical about this one.

He may have once been an unstoppable force in the Premier League, but he never recovered from the Tottenham Hotspur transfer saga and that was over six years ago now.

Since then, he has failed to make any real impact at Stoke City and out in Belgium, so Owls should be excited but cautious.

Berahino is an unknown quantity in the third tier which could provide Darren Moore’s side with an aspect of unpredictability going forward – but he needs to hit the ground running if he wants to have a successful career at Hillsborough.

A good start will be key and this is very much needed with Josh Windass still out with his hamstring injury. A good start is dependent on his mindset though, but under another former Baggie in Darren Moore, you couldn’t ask for anyone better to get the very best out of him.

The South Yorkshire side do have other options in Lee Gregory, Florian Kamberi, Callum Paterson and Sylla Sow though, so Berahino will need to be on top form if he wants to retain a starting spot and fire his side to promotion.

George Harbey

I don’t think you can definitely say yes, but it’s a very interesting signing to say the least.

Berahino is obviously a bit of a livewire, and his time in England ended up turning a bit sour with Stoke City before he moved to Belgium.

He has found goals hard to come by, but he should cope in League One as he has performed at a higher standard before.

If there is a manager to get the best out of him, it’s Darren Moore as he knows him well and worked with him before.

Berahino scored 14 goals in the Premier League in 2014/15, and if he can get back to that form, it would be massive for the Owls.

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