Stoke City

Mark Hughes: 'Saido Berahino to give up his summer for Stoke City'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 05 May 2017

Hughes: 'Berahino to give up his summer'

Mark Hughes admits that he will judge Saido Berahino "more harshly" next season, having seen his £15m signing fail to get off the mark since joining in January.

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has revealed that striker Saido Berahino intends to put any summer plans on hold in an attempt to get his career back on track.

The 23-year-old has yet to get going at the bet365 Stadium since joining in a £12m deal from West Bromwich Albion in January, failing to find the net in any of his 12 outings to date.

Berahino, whose scoring drought stretches back to February 2016, has already improved his fitness since making the move to Stoke but he will also forgo a post-season break in order to hit the ground running next term.

"Saido just needs to keep performing in games like he is," Hughes told reporters. "We all feel he is getting close to breaking his duck. His general play is better, his physical condition is better.

"We've still got games in this season, but next year when he's had a full pre-season he will benefit from the games he's had this year. Next season is when we'll judge him more harshly.

"He's not going to have much of a break this summer, he's going to be doing extra work prior to the group coming back. He wants to make sure he is ready for the new season – that shows his commitment."

Berahino has featured for a total of 693 minutes in the Premier League for Stoke, while also starting three games for West Brom earlier in the season.