Stoke City to try and sell Saido Berahino as soon as transfer window opens following arrest on suspicion of drink driving at 3am in London

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Stoke will try to offload Saido Berahino as soon as the summer window opens after the striker was arrested on suspicion of drink driving at 3am in London on Monday morning.

Berahino reportedly told police he was fleeing from a gang trying to steal his car but Stoke have taken a very dim view and will fine the striker two weeks' wages, worth around £80,000.

To compound Stoke's anger, Berahino had been due to play for their under-23s on Monday night against Manchester United - so his night out was far from ideal preparation in any case.

Stoke City will try to offload Saido Berahino after he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving 

The former England U21 striker was arrested at around 3am on Monday morning in London

The club have grown exasperated after a series of incidents since his £12million move in January 2017 and are preparing to look for buyers when the market resumes.

This latest matter occurred when police arrested Berahino in the early hours of Monday morning, having been called to attend a scrap between two groups outside VQ, a 24-hour restaurant and bar in Bloomsbury. 

When officers arrived Berahino is said to have sped off round the corner in his black Range Rover before being apprehended.

The incident occurred outside 24-hour restaurant and bar, VQ, in Bloomsbury, London

The ex-England U21 star has made 26 appearances in all competitions for Stoke this season

A police statement said: 'On Monday, 18 February at around 03:00 hours police were called to a disturbance in Great Russell Street, WC1. When officers arrived on scene a car was seen to drive away at speed.

'The car was stopped by police in Bedford Square and a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drink drive.'

The Sun reported that Berahino insisted the group tried to steal his car keys, so he had to take evasive action.

Berahino has been in trouble for drink-driving before. He received a 12-month ban for travelling down the M6 at 3.39am at 110mph.

He was also given an eight-week ban from footballer in 2016 after failing a drugs test, although he says his drink was spiked.

His time at Stoke has never taken off and Paul Lambert banished him to the Under-23s for persistently bad time-keeping and poor work-rate in training.

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