Express & Star

West Brom's Tom Fellows backed to keep making impact after latest cameo at Cardiff

Carlos Corberan believes Albion starlet Tom Fellows will make strides in his development after cameos like on Tuesday.

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The academy graduate winger, 20, shone in the final half hour of the 1-0 success at Cardiff, where he was a constant thorn in the hosts’ side.

He is enjoying a breakthrough season and has featured in seven Championship games since early October.

Corberan said: “He was excellent, for me, these games can only help him to keep growing and developing as a player.

“With desire he found the way to individually impose his level and show his level. He made two or three actions to help the team, it helped us grow in the attacking half.

“The more minutes he had like he is having right now is the better for him and the better for the team.”

Fellows, while far from a senior player, is now very much included in Corberan’s first-team options.

He is another nod to a new-found depth currently available to the boss with Grady Diangana, Jeremy Sarmiento, John Swift and Josh Maja all back from injury in recent weeks and months. It was setbacks to those players that allowed the young, on loan at Crawley in League Two last season and out of contract next summer, to have a look-in after a bright pre-season.

He was introduced in south Wales from the bench with fellow subs Brandon Thomas-Asante, Matt Phillips, Maja and Jayson Molumby. Fellows was the brighter of Albion’s changes and Corberan made a point in his post-match press conference to note this, adding the youngster’s name to a list of his options.

Fellows’ form becomes more pertinent now Jed Wallace’s available for upcoming games is in doubt. His shoulder injury at the Cardiff City Stadium means he is unlikely to feature against leaders Leicester on Saturday lunchtime.

Corberan said of the outcome in Cardiff after Jeremy Sarmiento’s fine winner: “We improved after the goal. The changes we made helped us to improve.

“I watched Tom Fellows in some actions and he created crosses which were very dangerous. That helped us to almost score the second goal, through his crosses or individual actions. For me it was a positive change.”