Saido Berahino. You may not have heard the name before, but chances are you will soon. The 20-year-old attacker is lighting up English football at the moment with his eye for goal and an equally inspiring backstory. The former refugee from Burundi has had quite a month, scoring on his debut for the England Under-21 team before scoring the winning goal against Manchester United this weekend.
Born in Burundi, Berahino was forced to flee his war-torn homeland a decade ago when he was just 10-years-old. The story goes that his mother was already living in England after being granted political asylum, so he travelled to Heathrow on his own once she had saved enough money to pay for the flight. The family settled in an inner city area of Birmingham and young Saido started playing football.
After just a year in England, he was spotted by Premier League team West Bromwich Albion whilst he was playing for his local side Phoenix United. He joined the club at Under-12s level and started to make his way through the ranks.
The young striker signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2011, before being sent out on loan to various lower league clubs including Northampton Town, Brentford and Peterborough United.