The new Fellows: West Brom racing EFL rivals to sign £5m sensation
da bet vitoria： Ryan Mason has settled into the West Bromwich Albion dug-out now with a reputation for working with some of Tottenham Hotspur’s most promising starlets when he was still situated at the Premier League club above his head.
da dobrowin： Indeed, during his lengthy stay in North London, the 33-year-old even took on the position of Head of Player Development in the Academy structure, with the likes of Mikey Moore, Jamie Donley, and Will Lankshear – who was with the Baggies last season – all benefitting from his methods.
Moore and Donley have been tipped to link back up with Mason in the West Midlands, but no such moves have gotten off the ground just yet, with West Brom now perhaps looking further afield when chasing after some up-and-coming starlets ready to burst into life in the EFL.
West Brom interested in move for £5m starlet
Of course, West Brom also have a lot of promising youngsters already on their roster, with Caleb Taylor potentially ready for a breakout 25/26 campaign, after being loaned out to Wycombe Wanderers last season.
But, a new 19-year-old attacker now looks to be on their radar to add to the youthfulness of Mason’s camp, with a hope the target in question can replicate Tom Fellows’ heroics – who was once a wide-eyed winger himself – from minute one of his Hawthorns adventure.
As per journalist Ben Jacobs via X, West Brom are now reportedly interested in a deal to land rising Genoa star Seydou Fini this summer, but they aren’t the only ones taking a peek at the teenage forward, with both Coventry City and Watford also keen to strike up a deal for the £5m attacker.
West Brom will want to win this race so they can add yet another exciting future talent to their ranks, with Fini perhaps going down as the Baggies’ next iteration of Fellows if all goes to plan, considering the Solihull-born winger was once an unknown entity in the senior environment of the Championship after soaring up the age brackets, before then becoming a staple of the West Brom main XI.
How Fini could become West Brom's next Fellows
It does feel some time ago now that Fellows wasn’t a household name at the Hawthorns, with the 21-year-old first attempting to cut his teeth in the senior ranks at the start of the 23/24 season.
He has managed to jump over any hurdles that come his way effortlessly since catching a first-team break, considering Fellows is now on the reported Everton shopping list after amassing a bumper 14 assists in league action last campaign.
Fini’s career numbers
Team
Games
Goals
Assists
Genoa U19s
45
11
14
Excelsior
38
4
5
Genoa U17s
28
21
11
Genoa U18s
10
6
5
Standard Liege
9
0
0
Genoa
5
0
0
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Fini is in a similar position now as many a Championship suitor eyes him up after a promising loan stint out in the Netherlands with Excelsior Rotterdam last season resulted in the Italian winger picking up four goals and five assists in the Eredivisie.
Whilst it hasn’t quite clicked for the 19-year-old in senior action back at Genoa, his promising youth numbers for Patrick Vieira’s outfit will make him a tantalising prospect to purchase on the end of the Baggies, with Fini up to a bumper 68 goal contributions in total for his Italian employers at youth level.
Like Fellows, he’s a creative outlet and as the scout below translates, Fini possesses a “real flair for dribbling.”
Fellows wouldn’t hit such grand numbers himself back at the Hawthorns, with a lesser 28 goal contributions notched up for both the U18s and the U23s, as the direct, fast-paced Fini now tries to push his English counterpart all the way to a starting spot on the right channel.
West Brom have already gone rogue with some of their transfer business, with £4.7m forked out already on ex-Brann attacker Aune Heggebo, with another bold move now looking to be in the works for Mason and Co. to snap up their next Fellows for a similarly wild fee.
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