Matt Maher: West Brom in strong position after starlet's new contract

Morgan Rogers is obviously the most high-profile, having arrived at Villa via Manchester City and Middlesbrough in a deal which could eventually be worth around £15million.

But another signing, left-back Lino Sousa from Arsenal, also began his career with the Baggies, while Villa also signed 16-year-old midfielder Keilan Quinn for £1m. The trio join Tim Iroegbunam, Louie Barry, Rico Richards, Luka Lynch and Triston Rowe as former Albion academy players now on Villa’s books. Finn Azaz and Finlay Thorndike have, meanwhile, already been and gone after moving on to Middlesbrough and Blues respectively. All left Albion following academy chief Mark Harrison’s 2019 switch to Villa, along with several members of his staff.

For the Baggies, there is nothing funny about it. There is no one reason things have worked out the way they have. Some of the departures have been mitigated slightly by deals which include sell-on fees.

Yet others haven’t and the bottom line is the club has recently lost several talented players in return for relative pittance when factoring in the years spent nurturing them.

It is why securing Tom Fellows on a long-term contract last week felt significant. The 20-year-old’s performances in his breakthrough season had caught the attention of other clubs, with Newcastle among several thought to be tracking a player whose deal had been due to expire this summer.

Fellows signing a new contract won’t necessarily put off unwanted approaches come the end of the campaign. But it does ensure the Baggies will be in a stronger position to resist them, or be properly recompensed should they receive one too good to ignore.

A welcome display of loyalty, it was also a shot in the arm for a club too accustomed to losing its brightest young talents.