Saido Berahino finally given permission to leave West Brom for Premier League rivals

Stoke have had an offer accepted by West Brom for striker Saido Berahino.

Berahino's protracted move away from The Hawthorns appears closer after the two Premier League clubs agreed a deal which could rise to as much as £15million (€17.3m) with add-ons.

The 23-year-old has been a target for Stoke for the past three transfer windows and he is now set to hold talks with Mark Hughes' side over a switch to the bet365 Stadium.

West Brom confirmed they have given Stoke permission to talk with Berahino.

A Baggies statement read: "West Bromwich Albion can confirm the club has today agreed a deal with Stoke City for Saido Berahino.

"As a result, Albion have given Stoke permission to open talks with Berahino about a potential move to the bet365 Stadium. There will be no further comment at this time."

The news is in sharp contrast to earlier in the day when neither Hughes or West Brom boss Tony Pulis sounded too optimistic about reaching an agreement.

Hughes said there had been no progress since last week while Pulis described Stoke's initial offer as ''nowhere near'' Albion's valuation of the player.

However, a breakthrough has now been made and the long-running transfer saga surrounding the former England Under-21 international, which began in August 2015 with a series of rejected offers from Tottenham, could be about to end.

Berahino is almost certain to leave West Brom under a cloud after failing to make a first-team appearance since September 10, amid claims over his fitness and mental state which even saw him sent to France to train.

His contract at Albion is set to expire in the summer and he refused the offer of a new deal to remain at The Hawthorns. West Brom would have been entitled to compensation for the academy product should he have left on a free transfer to another British club but unsure how much a tribunal would award them they have decided to cash in now.

Hughes, meanwhile, insists playmaker Bojan Krkic has not expressed a desire to leave Stoke.

The Spaniard has only started six games all season and has been linked with a move to Middlesbrough.

Hughes said: ''We saw something in the press saying that if there was an opportunity he'd like to leave. He hasn't said that to me.

''He's our player, he's involved in the squad tomorrow so he's part of what we're doing. I think there have been enquiries but nobody's come back with any bids - we wouldn't encourage them to be perfectly honest.

''If they do come in, maybe then Bojan or his advisor would want to discuss that. But we're not at that point at the moment.''

Hughes welcomes his former club Manchester United on Saturday with both sides in decent form.

The Potters have won their last two Premier League games while United's nine-match winning run was ended by a draw with Liverpool last time out.

Stoke will be confident of taking something having claimed seven points from nine against United at home in their last three meetings, while they also held

Jose Mourinho's side to a draw at Old Trafford earlier this season.

''We're playing them when clearly they're on a good run of form and the team is shaping up to be what you envisage a Jose Mourinho team should look like,'' said Hughes.

''You can see signs that that's forming as we speak. It'll be a big test. It's maybe a game we can enjoy. There's an expectation that Man United will come here and make it difficult and maybe win.

''We'll clearly have something to say about that and have done in recent seasons. We can maybe express ourselves a little bit more and really have a go and that's what I'll be emphasising to my players.''

It could be a big day for two strikers.

Wayne Rooney continues his pursuit of the one goal he needs to become United's all-time leading scorer while in-form Stoke frontman Peter Crouch netted his 99th Premier League goal in last weekend's victory over Sunderland.

Hughes said: ''We hope it (Rooney's record-breaking goal) is not against us clearly, we'd much rather Crouchy got his 100th goal, which is really important to him. So hopefully that'll be the case and Wayne will have to wait one week longer.''