West Bromwich Albion head coach Tony Pulis has conceded that Saido Berahino has struggled to rediscover his form since interest from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
The Baggies meet Spurs on Saturday for the first time since rejecting bids for the 22-year-old in the transfer window, and Pulis admits that the striker is not the same player he was last season.
Berahino has been left out of the side in recent weeks, but Pulis believes that it would be unfair to be too critical of the England Under-21 international.
"If you look at last season, the most influential player at the club was Saido," the West Brom boss told reporters.
"He got the goals which got us the points which kept us in the league. This year we haven't had that.
"For six months we've played with Saido being nowhere near as good as he was last year. I'm not blaming Saido, not anyone, it's just fact."
Berahino has scored three goals in 11 Premier League appearances this season.
Callum Mulvihill
