Double West Brom transfer exit would be painful but may be needed | OneFootball

While exits for Tom Fellows and Torbjorn Heggem are not ideal, they could be needed to strengthen multiple areas of the squad.

West Brom will be finalising preparations ahead of their 2025-26 Championship season opener against Blackburn Rovers.

During the summer transfer window, the Black Country outfit haven’t been as busy as perhaps originally expected, with the club bringing just three new faces into the building as they continue to battle P&S issues.

For Albion to be competitive in the summer market, it was believed that the club would have to part ways with their most sellable assets.

That may well still be the case as we enter the latter stages of the transfer window, with Tom Fellows and Torbjorn Heggem both rumoured to make exits from The Hawthorns after impressive individual campaigns.

Both Fellows and Heggem were instrumental to Albion competing towards a top six place last season, so the Albion faithful will not want to see them leave at all before the 1st September deadline.

But despite the exits being viewed as a negative outcome, they could ultimately be positive in the long-term, with the Baggies desperately needing funds to ramp up summer activity and address a number of key areas in the squad.

While West Brom supporters would have felt comfortable that the club may be able to keep its most prized assets, recent links have emerged that will have put concern back on their faces.

With Southampton entertaining a possible departure for Tyler Dibling to Everton this summer, the Saints have been touted to make a move for starlet Tom Fellows, who notched a sensational 14 assists in the second-tier last season.

Meanwhile, Norwegian defender Torbjorn Heggem, who was a regular and key cog in the Albion backline last term, has been linked with a move to Serie A outfit Bologna, with negotiations believed to have taken place over a £10m deal.

Express & Star reporter Lewis Cox did state that no agreement has been reached yet, although a deal may resurface towards the end of the transfer window.

In recent times, West Brom have also been battling with P&S concerns since Shilen Patel took control of the football club, based on their business dealings under previous owner Guochuan Lai.

Back in August 2024, West Brom had been imposed under an EFL business plan, with the club working in conjunction with the organisation to avoid breaking any P&S rules, while an open letter by Patel in June 2025 warned that Albion must still be “pragmatic” and “resourceful” during this summer transfer window.

Patel said: “The realities of P&S aren’t going away just yet, and its existence will necessarily govern our approach to the summer. Our three-year P&S rolling average calculation will no longer include the slight profit of 22/23, leaving us with a challenge similar in magnitude to last year’s.

“Every summer will require us to be prepared for the departure of players and the recruitment of well-vetted talents to succeed them; this summer, we will once again have to be pragmatic, adaptable, and resourceful and consider factors beyond our simple preferences in player trading.”

Since that explanation, Albion haven’t been able to sanction any major first-team exits, with the club struggling to offload the likes of Devante Cole or Gianluca Frabotta despite their best efforts, which may have prevented Albion being in a weaker position to consider offers for Fellows or Heggem.

If Tom Fellows and Torbjorn Heggem were to both leave The Hawthorns, West Brom could bank as much as £20 million to attack the remainder of the summer transfer window, given both have been touted for £10 million exits.

While the timing of the potential exits could be far from ideal and lead the club to scrambling for last-minute deals, such a sizeable amount of money could be used to address multiple areas of the squad that could bring about a fine balance and have consistent levels of quality in most departments for Ryan Mason to work with.

When reviewing the Albion squad, there are quite a few positions that need strengthening.

Competition has been sparse at full-back for a while now in the Black Country, with Darnell Furlong the only recognised option at right-back, while Callum Styles has had to fill in on the opposite side due to the lack of impact from Gianluca Frabotta, and currently looks set to do so again.

Midfield is another department that could do with some freshening up. Alex Mowatt and Jayson Molumby were a regular partnership that failed to drag the club into the play-offs last season, while the club desperately requires a playmaker after the exits of John Swift and Grady Diangana, while Tammer Bany is out until the September international break with a hamstring issue.

On the flanks, Albion would only have Jed Wallace as a right-wing option should Fellows depart, while Mikey Johnston has been trialed in that area in pre-season.

That would leave Karlan Grant as a solo option on the left flank, while Aune Heggebo and Devante Cole are the only forward options currently, as Daryl Dike picked up a fresh thigh issue that keeps him out for the same length of time as Bany, while Josh Maja wasn’t involved in the club’s final pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano, raising concerns that he has had another setback with his fitness.

When listing down the issues with the playing squad, it’s a group that severely lacks the depth and quality to keep up with the pace of the 46-game slog, and if more injuries crop up in the early stages, it could be a case of filling round pegs in square holes, something that will not deliver success in the Championship.

As painful as it would be for supporters to lose Fellows and Heggem, that money could go a long way to addressing a squad that needs major surgery to continue being competitive in the second-tier, and these decisions could be vital to keeping the club towards the top end of the Championship.

At face value, it seems something the club has no choice but to consider, with the incoming money being for the greater good of the club and to give Mason every chance of thriving in his first professional job as manager.