Former West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Irvine believes young Baggies striker Saido Berahino is not ready to move to a big club yet.
Berahino has been linked with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, clubs with top four aspirations, throughout the summer, but former manager Irvine is unsure the 21-year-old’s move would be beneficial for his development.
"Is he ready to play a huge part at a club like Tottenham who want to be challenging for the top four? Probably not yet", Irvine said to BBC Radio 5 live.
"I always said to Saido that as long as he kept focus and did the right thing then he would continue to develop."
Irvine, under whom Berahino played 22 times and scored eight goals during the first part of last season, has talked up the potential of the England Under-21s international, but feels the striker needs regular playing time at this stage of his career to fulfil his promise.
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"He is a player who certainly has the potential to become a very good striker.
"It's important that he plays. He's at the stage of his career where he needs to play regular games. He's got a talent. His movement is very good”, added Irvine.
The Burundi-born striker, who came up through the ranks at the Hawthorns, featured in all of the Baggies’ 38 league games last season, scoring 14 goals.
He played 45 times in all competitions in 2014/15, and scored 20 goals.
