Berahino: 'I'm not a troublemaker'

Saido Berahino has accused West Bromwich Albion of tarnishing his image, insisting he's "not a troublemaker" as he aims to rebuild his career with Stoke City.

The former England Under-21 international was eventually granted an exit from the Hawthorns 18 months after he tried to force a move to Tottenham Hotspur, shifting last week to the Potteries for a fee that could reach £15 million.

Now, ahead of Wednesday's Premier League visit from Everton, Berahino is aiming to shrug off a reputation of being overweight and a "bad egg" after enduring demotion to training with West Brom's youth teams.

"I got accused of being fat. How can I become fat after starting three games in the league and then being dropped? Suddenly, you're unfit? It's a question mark, they never actually told me why I'm not playing," Berahino told the Guardian's Stuart James of his frustrations in the Black Country.

"I tried to have a chat with (West Brom manager) Tony Pulis, he didn't say much, so I kind of knew where that was going."

Berahino revealed he turned down three contract offers in the span of four months, and blames this on not being handed a chance in the Baggies first team. He said he didn't put pen to paper because he saw no first-team opportunities on the horizon.

"I didn't want the fans thinking I was rejecting it because I'm bigger than the club - that's never been the case," he insisted. "They made me who I am and gave me that platform. It was hard for me, getting all that abuse from the fans. They didn't understand what was happening but the people involved in it did."

The 23-year-old was put on a special fitness regime by Pulis to address his lacking match fitness, which only served to attract accusations of Berahino being a "fat boy." It's a time that the striker has previously dubbed the "most difficult" of his career, as he dealt with depression issues, allegations of being overweight, and an exclusion from senior matters which was hampering his development.

"I'm not a troublemaker," said the Burundi-born poacher. "Yes, as a young lad I made stupid mistakes and got caught in the papers a few times but I'm not somebody that would want to harm anyone. My mum never brought me up that way. So for me to read 'he's a bad boy and a bad egg' is really hard to take because I've never had bad press like that before."