What is going on with Tom Fellows at West Brom amid Everton interest? | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Tom Fellows is the subject of interest from Everton but Albion are determined to keep the young star at The Hawthorns.

West Bromwich Albion will have a fight on their hands if they want to keep their talented young midfielder Tom Fellows at the club for next season.

West Brom are working hard to rebuild their squad under new head coach Ryan Mason, after finishing the 2024-25 Championship season in a disappointing ninth place in the table, some way short of their ambitions of a return to the Premier League.

Albion have already brought in Nat Phillips from Liverpool, Aune Heggebo from SK Brann and George Campbell from CF Montreal this summer, but their pre-season preparations could yet be disrupted, should they lose England under-21 star Tom Fellows with reports of confirmed interest from two Premier League clubs.

Albion have had to bat away interest in Fellows before

Everton's interest in Fellows is nothing new. Football Insider reported in February that they had agreed terms with Fellows for a move to Merseyside at the end of the January transfer window, only for the move to fail because Everton couldn't agree a fee with West Brom.

But that interest hasn't gone anywhere and has reignited this summer, although there have been reports that Everton might not even have a formal bid for the player the previous January, with the Express & Star claiming that the only offer for Fellows last season came from Southampton.

Everton have "leap-frogged" Leeds, while West Brom are making "last-ditch" appeal to Fellows to stay

Tom Fellows finished the 2024-25 season with the highest number of assists in the Championship, at 14, while his summer was spent with the England under-21 squad, who won the European Championships by beating Germany 3-2 in the final.

Everton have been joined in the race for his signature by newly-promoted Leeds United. But the last seven days have brought the suggestion that Everton are set to leapfrog Leeds in the race to secure his signature.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson said that he was "not surprised" by Leeds' interest in Fellows, saying: "He’s 21, and if you look at his attacking stats this season in terms of goals and assists, 14 assists is incredible in a team that finished ninth in the Championship."

But Robinson also warned that "Everton are ahead because of where they were in January with him", and there has been a general belief that this is the case on account of their prior interest in the player. From a different perspective, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has exclusively told Football League World that, "he would personally be better served from another season in the Championship doing really well before maybe getting a shot in the Premier League".

West Brom are under no obligation to sell, with the player having signed a contract extension to the summer of 2027 at the start of 2024. But it has also been reported that Albion are likely to make a "last-ditch" attempt to persuade the player to stay at The Hawthorns for next season, although it remains the case that they could be left with little option but to sell, if Everton are prepared to increase their offer to a level which the Baggies, considering their financial position and the collapse of the sale of Mikey Johnston to Flamengo, can't refuse.