Carlos Corberan reveals Tom Fellows' hidden quality after West Brom transfer 'noise'

Tom Fellows of West Brom
-Credit: (Image: Phil Oldham/REX/Shutterstock)


Carlos Corberan has been pleased by Tom Fellows' ability to block out the 'noise' surrounding his West Bromwich Albion future in order to put his football first and deliver in the Albion side which has begun the new Championship season in sparkling form.

Winger Fellows, an academy product, has made the previously hotly contested right-wing spot his own this season, ahead of club captain Jed Wallace; he has produced a league-high four assists in the opening five games, after which Albion sit at the top of the division, and three of those deliveries have been converted by the league's top scorer Josh Maja - the pair combined again most recently at Portsmouth on Sunday.

Fellows spent the recent international break away with the England under 21s for the first time, and he scored his first goal in a 4-1 win over Austria at Luton Town's Kenilworth Road, despite only featuring from the bench for under 20 minutes. Fellows' mesmeric start to the campaign drew attention from the Premier League in August, but he stayed put.

READ: Carlos Corberan reveals the summer transfer who must learn after West Brom discovery

READ: John Swift reveals his Celtic link, Mikey Johnston texts and West Brom's new role unearthed

At a time when Albion could do with the money, it was a glowing endorsement of their summer business and efforts to reduce costs that they were left in a position where they could turn away the advances from the likes of Southampton. Fellows, who has a contract which runs until the summer of 2027, stayed put and continued as he had been.

"When a player performs well, it's something that can only be a positive," Corberan said. "It's true that might mean more interest. It's important, especially for young players, to have the right mentality. Tom Fellows has the right mentality to know where he is and that in football to understand, when we do things well, we'll be talking a lot about very good things.

"If in three years he isn't getting the assists, it's a different thing. If a striker scores goals, we talk about the goals. After, if he's injured and four months later we might talk about the fact he hasn't scored any goals, and he was out injured for three and a half of those months. We know how football is.

"Especially the younger players, it's important to have the right mentality. I like the mentality of Tom Fellows, because he is not affected by the noise around football. He needs to be just focused on growing as a player. There are things he can still do better to be the best player he can be.

"In life, with every positive there is always a negative inside. You have fewer players in the squad, you have fewer headaches to make the first XI, but if you have injuries you have a problem. If you have more players, you have more headaches, but if something happens you'll always have good players to play.

"If the players play well, always more interest will appear and the risk of losing the player in the short term or medium term is higher. We need to see, but we want to see our players progress, play well and I only see the interest from other clubs in Fellows as positive - we must focus on our club, our possibilities."

As Corberan points out, the recognition of Fellows' performances which led to a first England call spelled out plainly exactly how impressive he has been. To join esteemed company and to use his minutes in such a way when afforded his opportunity was pleasing for all concerned, but Corberan has challenged him to continue in the same vein, in order to ensure another call-up awaits in the next break.

"It's difficult to be involved in the England under 21s, because when you see the players that they have, it's a very high level," the Spaniard reasoned. "It's very nice to see him with this group. In my opinion he has deserved this, according to the things he is doing in the pitch. This experience will help him to realise, playing with this level of players, that he can make important things in football.

"He must keep his mind focused on the things he is doing, to improve as a player and to keep growing. This is his mentality and it'll help him to do this more times. In football history, there are many examples of players who have made their debuts, even in the national team, but after it doesn't mean anything, so he must be consistent so that it doesn't just happen once."

What would you value Fellows at? Tell us HERE