Berahino not for sale

West Bromwich Albion F.C. chairman Jeremy Peace has confirmed the club have turned down an offer from Tottenham Hotspur for forward Saido Berahino.

The former England youth international, 22, has been the subject of reported interest from Spurs this summer, but Peace has revealed Albion have no interest in selling the player.

“We have no interest in selling Saido which is what I have told [Spurs chairman] Daniel Levy,” Peace said.

“I know we are living in an age where no club can say ‘never’ about the possibility of selling a player.

“However, the prospect of selling Saido is simply not on our agenda.

“We are going forward with Saido very much in our plans and still striving to add players to improve the balance of our squad.”

Berahino scored 20 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions, including 36 starts, for West Brom last season.

West Brom (26/5); Chelsea (4/6); Draw (14/5)

Ake eyeing first-team opportunity at Watford

Holland Under-21 international defender Nathan Ake is looking forward to working under the tutelage of manager Quique Flores during his season-long loan at Watford.

Ake, who penned a new five-year deal with Chelsea before joining the Hornets on loan for the 2015/16 campaign, wants regular first-team football in the English Premier League and believes Flores in the man who can give him exactly that.

“He’s a big manager and he has managed big clubs,” Ake told the club’s official website.

“He told me he had young players when he was at other clubs, like Koke at Atletico Madrid, and he said age doesn’t matter to him, he’ll play you if you’re ready.

“I was really impressed with him, we had a good chat and he made me feel welcome straight away.

“I’m really excited because I’ve been waiting for this, to get on loan and play a lot of games, and Watford have given me this opportunity.”

The former ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord youth star, 22, can play centre-back, left-back and in defensive midfield, is currently behind the likes of Craig Cathcart, Etienne Capoue, Sebastian Prödl and Valon Behrami in the pecking order at Vicarage Road.

“I can play in midfield, left-back or centre-back. I’m a player who works really hard, a left-footed player who tries to play football on the ground,” added Ake.

“But I can also do the other side of the game like defending, and I just try to help the team really.”

Watford are backed by the bookmakers at 6/1 to be the lowest scoring team in the Premier League this season.