West Brom offered clear Tom Fellows transfer advice as Everton lurk - They should "look at Jack Clarke" | OneFootball

FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has urged the Baggies to hold out for a higher fee for Tom Fellows as Everton press ahead for a summer move.

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…

Given West Brom’s ongoing financial restrictions, the club are expected to wave goodbye to some senior first-team figures to help build Ryan Mason a competitive Championship squad.

The Baggies published a loss in their annual accounts of £33.9 million from July 2023 to June 2024, meaning the club will have to once again be shrewd in the summer market to help push for promotion back to the Premier League.

Player sales will be helpful to easing some of the pressure on the recruitment team to constantly find bargain buys, and Tom Fellows is someone who is likely to generate the biggest selling fee.

The 21-year-old recorded a superb tally of 14 assists throughout the second tier campaign, rounding off a fabulous season with a brace and assist on the final day against Luton Town.

Such a breakthrough season has led to a flurry of transfer interest, and top-flight outfit Everton are reportedly pushing ahead to seal the signing of the winger, with TeamTalk claiming a £10 million deal is “in the pipeline”.

With this latest development, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on whether he is content with the touted figure for Fellows.

West Brom advised to demand more for Tom Fellows sale amid Everton interest

Speaking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess has demanded Albion demand more money for Tom Fellows, comparing the sale of Jaden Philogene from Hull City to Aston Villa as a fee Albion should be aiming to earn.

Burgess said: “Seeing the rumours of a £10 million move reportedly being enough for Everton to sign Tom Fellows, you’d have to imagine that would be the fee before any add-ons, because if the total of the deal comes to a £10 million sum, then something has seriously gone wrong there.

“My view is that you'd have to be talking at least £15 million to get Fellows out of West Brom. He’s, of course, our most prized asset and was joint alongside Josh Murphy with getting the most assists in the division last year.

"I think you've got to look at the likes of Jaden Philogene, Jack Clarke, who Ipswich Town signed last year, and with Philogene he moved to Villa in the summer from Hull for around £18 million, then in January he didn't really pull up any trees, I think he didn't even start that many games, then he got a £20 million move to Ipswich in January, and I can't really be convinced about Jaden Philogene being twice the player of Tom Fellows.

“I think you've got to look at some of the examples of players with similar ability to Fellows and the prices that they’re going for and be aiming for a decent fee for Albion's prized asset, because, for me £10 million, frankly, shouldn't be anywhere near enough to get Fellows out of Albion.”

West Brom should do all they can to maximise Tom Fellows sale figure

As Callum Burgess alluded to, Tom Fellows was joint for the most assists in the Championship last season, with his willingness to be direct and use his low centre of gravity to create regular chances a sight to behold for the Albion faithful.

According to the latest report, new head coach Ryan Mason is resigned to Fellows' departure and Everton are said to be prioritising a deal for the tricky winger over Liverpool's Ben Doak, so it’s important the Baggies squeeze every last bit of cash out of a sale so they can attack the summer transfer window.

A homegrown talent with more than 100 senior appearances and an improving record in the Championship at just the age of 21 means that West Brom should earn a sizeable figure, but could get so much more in a largely inflated market.

It’s right to point out the example of Jaden Philogene, who moved away to Aston Villa for £13 million after a similar amount of attacking returns at the MKM Stadium. The aforementioned Clarke, meanwhile, posted 15 goals but just four assists the season before joining Ipswich, and while the pair may have had more to their all-round games with Hull and Sunderland respectively, Fellows' similar level of overall output means Albion supporters would have every right to feel somewhat aggreived at losing Fellows for just £10m.

As the money being spent on transfers becomes even more ridiculous season-upon-season, the Black Country outfit should be holding out for a sale of between the £15-£20 million mark, ensuring that they make a maximum profit that they can use on addressing key areas of the squad.