I was a future England star who scored winner against Man Utd – now I’m firing in the goals for new country

FORMER England Under-21 striker Saido Berahino was once tipped to be the next best thing.

He burst onto the scene at West Brom and captured attention with x goals in his debut season.

Saido Berahino played for England from U16 to U21 levelGetty Images - Getty

Getty

He switched his international allegiance to Burundi, the country of his birth, in 2018[/caption]

Berahino scored 11 goals in his first season at the Hawthorns and followed that up with 14 Premier League goals in his next campaign.

He quickly earned a call-up to England U21s and it seemed the senior side would be next, with Tottenham also registering an interest in the striker.

However his career quickly unravelled after he lost his form at the Baggies after handing in a transfer request.

He joined Stoke in an attempt to rediscover his form but found the net just five times in 56 games.

Towards the end of his spell in Stoke Berahino switched allegiances to Burundi, the country of his birth, and scored on his debut against Gabon in September 2018.

He even captained his country at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Now at Cypriot side AEL Limassol, Berahino scored 24 goals in 47 games across various England age groups from U16 to U21 level.

Berahino fled war-torn Burundi as a 10-year-old but was given Fifa clearance to switch allegiances in 2018.

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Speaking exclusively to SunSport that year, Berahino opened up on the work he was doing in the East African nation after choosing to switch international allegiances.

He said: “I’d always wanted to help my country and I made a massive step by going back to play for them.

“I’ve always tried to do things back home because the Burundi people are my people — I came here to England and I got lucky.

“God gave me a better life and now I am in a situation where I can help a lot of people and that’s what I’m trying to do.

“Me and my mum always tried to do something — she has been travelling twice, three times a year to Burundi to help the unfortunate ones that will never get the opportunity I got.”

Berahino added that switching allegiances means he is able to visit the country himself when he is called up for Burundi duty.

He continued: “Now I go back myself because I am playing for my country. Every time I do, there is a lot of work with homeless kids, I provide them with food.

“There are patients in hospitals that never pay for their bills and because of that they are kept there as prisoners.

“They are kept there until they can find a way of somehow getting the money.”

Berahino, who played for the likes of West Brom, Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday, has scored two goals in 18 senior caps for his country.

He joined Stoke from West Brom in an initial £12million deal in January 2017 during the midst of a 913-day goal drought.

The striker left Sheffield Wednesday last September to join Cypriot side AEL Limassol, the ninth club of his career, where he has scored four goals in 27 games.