Football League World
·5 September 2024
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·5 September 2024
Tom Fellows has become one of the most highly-rated Championship performers
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...
West Bromwich Albion have started the Championship season in fine form.
After missing out on promotion via the play-offs last term, Carlos Corberan's side were expected by many to continue asserting themselves as a strong force in the second tier, and that's exactly what has transpired in the first month of the new campaign.
Naturally, there has been a reasonable extent of player turnover at The Hawthorns this summer, with numerous experienced players seeking a new challenge after the expiration of their contracts, whilst the Spaniard made a number of astute deals in the transfer market, which saw the likes of Torbjorn Heggem, Callum Styles and Gianluca Frabotta among others join the returning Mason Holgate and Mikey Johnston in B71.
Albion do possess a number of technically-gifted performers among their ranks at varying stages of their careers, but it doesn't exactly change who is currently the prized asset in this corner of the West Midlands.
That's according to FLW's West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess, who understandably believes that 21-year-old winger Tom Fellows, who was the subject of interest from Ipswich Town, Southampton and Everton in the recently concluded summer transfer window, is the player who offers Albion the greatest potential clash influx in the coming months and years.
"At the moment, everything points towards Tom Fellows being the most valuable player at West Bromwich Albion," Burgess stated. "There were bids in the £10m mark from Ipswich and Southampton, before being declared derisory and well-below the market value that West Brom have.
"He had a good end to last season and has picked up the pace this season, taking over from Jed Wallace and becoming one of our most important players," our fan pundit continued.
"He's a really good English talent, and I think you'll be able to see him breaking into the England U21s squad," Burgess added.
"If he continues his trajectory and progression and becomes one of the best wingers in the Championship, you could see a similar fee to what Jack Clarke was sold for, and potentially even higher, at the end of this season.
"Personally, I would value him at the £20m mark at the moment," he declared. "If he continues his good form, then he could progress towards the fee that (was paid for) Crysencio Summerville - I believe that was around £25m."
In this corner of the West Midlands, there has been hype surrounding the academy graduate for some period of time, and now Fellows has been able to grasp a starting berth from the beginning of the campaign. It's a pivotal season for the wide player after impressing last term despite making just 14 Championship starts.
It had been reported that the former Crawley Town loanee was in advanced talks with Ipswich on Deadline Day ahead of an £11m move, but it was swiftly revealed by the Mail's Tom Collomosse that Fellows would be remaining with his boyhood club for the time being unless a significantly improved offer was forthcoming from either the Tractor Boys or Southampton, with the latter of those also seeing a £10m bid knocked back by the Baggies.
A report from TEAMtalk states that Albion's current valuation of the winger stands at £15m, but so far this season, with numbers such as three assists in the opening four league outings, there is every chance that Fellows can increase those figures towards the £20m mark by the end of the season if a high number of goal contributions are accumulated.
His current employers are also under no pressure to move on their prized asset too, having signed a contract extension until June 2027 earlier on in the year, which will also bear great significance in any future stances taken in the transfer market.