Southampton FC ace dubbed 'a joy to watch' under Tonda Eckert - West Brom must feel robbed of 'bargain' deal | OneFootball

FLW's Saints Fan Pundit thinks Tom Fellows is only going to get better after signing from the Albion in summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton winger Tom Fellows has been called "a joy to watch" under interim boss Tonda Eckert, and his £10m price tag from West Bromwich Albion in the summer is looking like an apparent "bargain."

Fellows sealed his move to St Mary's in late August following an impressive stint at The Hawthorns - where he had established himself as the Championship's joint-leading playmaker during 24/25 with 14 assists to his name.

An initially quiet start raised questions about whether he could replicate his Baggies form in a new environment, but the turning point seems to have arrived.

Former West Brom winger Tom Fellows given "freedom" at Southampton under Tonda Eckert

Reflecting on Saints' 3-0 drumming over Leicester City on Tuesday, the club's fourth win in a row, FLW's Southampton Fan Pundit, Martin Sanders, believes bringing Fellows to Hampshire is starting to look like a very shrewd piece of business, along with a certain Brazilian.

"It's looking like a bargain at the moment, the way he's playing," Sanders told FLW. "The biggest bargain is [Leo] Scienza at £8.7m, he's looking like a £25m player at the moment, absolutely phenomenal. His performances have just been so good,” he added.

The Fan Pundit's words on Scienza first show the incredible turn around happening under Eckert's guidance. Since replacing the sacked Will Still - on a temporary basis for now at least - the German coach has seen Southampton score 13 goals.

Both Scienza and Fellows have contributed to two of these each. The ex-Heidenheim man has one goal and one assist, whilst Fellows has two assists all within the last four league games.

Sanders thinks the key difference in how Fellows has been playing appears to lie in how Eckert has given the winger more "freedom."

"Tom Fellows has come good, just because he’s been given the freedom to play a little bit higher up the field, a little bit wide, they’re trying to find space for him in behind all the time," Sanders continued.

Against Leicester, the ex-Albion star was cynically brought down by teenager Olabade Aluko in the first half - an incident that led to the Leicester debutant's dismissal on 33 minutes.

Fellows also received a lot of praise on social media for how he haunted Foxes' midfielder Oliver Skipp throughout the game, with one fan saying the latter will be having "nightmares."

Tom Fellows labelled 'a joy to watch' at Southampton - West Brom must feel robbed with Saints 'bargain'

Sanders then concluded his verdict on Fellows by saying, "He’s just started to look really good, but he’s been a joy to watch the last two games.

"I can’t believe how good his close ball control is, his skill is really good. Top player, top player."

Given that the England U21 international was tied with Portsmouth’s Josh Murphy for assists last season, on 14 as mentioned earlier, it was perhaps a surprise to see him leave the Black Country for a somewhat small fee.

Our Baggies Fan Pundit, Callum Burgess, spoke in February regarding Fellows and claimed the winger was worth "at least £20m" - so you can expect Albion fans will probably feel a little more robbed every time Fellows has a good game.

Clearly, for Sanders, Fellows has finally begun to justify the investment as Southampton climb up the Championship table under Eckert - who admitted he's "happy to go on" as Saints boss.

Whether the winger can maintain this trajectory remains to be seen, but the signs are genuinely encouraging that Southampton landed a bargain at Albion’s expense. If Eckert does get the job on a permanent basis, you can imagine things will carry on as they are currently.