Saido Berahino wasting his career, says Albion legend Brown

Saido Berahino (left) has been a fixture on the West Bromwich Albion bench since the start of November

Saido Berahino is 'wasting' his career at West Bromwich Albion, according to club legend Tony Brown.

Berahino has scored three goals this season, having completed just one full 90 minutes, and has been on the bench for the last three games.

Speculation continues about a possible move in the January transfer window.

"It's been a waste all season, for the lad himself and for the club," Brown told BBC WM. "Does the lad realise that he is wasting his career?"

The 70-year-old former Albion forward, who remains the club's all-time top goalscorer, continued: "He's got a great gift of scoring goals. There's not a lot of players who have got that ability. While he is sitting on the bench, he is not able to fulfil his potential.

"He's in limbo. Nothing's happened for him. In any era of football, it should never happen. But, whatever his problems are, he's got to go out in games and play for himself.

"By that, I don't mean that the team doesn't matter. I mean that you go out and play to your capabilities. Go and score goals and the team benefits as a result.

"When you're not in the side, you should be working your hardest, putting every effort you can into catching the manager's eye to say 'Give me a chance'. That obviously hasn't happened."

Being left out of the starting line-up by Albion head coach Tony Pulis has fuelled rumours that Berahino will finally leave in January after moves failed to materialise in the last two transfer windows, and Brown sees him as still a highly marketable asset.

"Whether his price is going to drop, I don't know," he added. "Everybody's looking at goalscorers. Looking from the outside you'd look at what he did last season that he can score goals and be thinking that we can get him back to what he was."

Berahino's lack of action this season

Albion have played 16 Premier League matches, of which Berahino has started nine and been substituted in eight of them.

He has been on the bench for the last five games, coming on in the first two. For two successive games in August, prior to the close of the transfer window, he did not make the matchday squad at all.

Last season, Berahino scored 20 goals in 45 games, 14 of them in the Premier League, catching the eye of England manager Roy Hodgson, the former Baggies head coach.

Albion average just a goal a game this season, to which Berahino has contributed three out of their 16 strikes so far.

Tony Brown was talking to BBC WM's Rob Gurney.