Signed for £6m: West Brom must cut ties with £20k-p/w star now worth less than Fellows

This coming Saturday, West Bromwich Albion will go to title-chasing Leicester City in an attempt to bounce back from their recent slump of form in the Championship, which has seen them win just once in their past five meetings in the second tier.

When the Baggies visit the King Power Stadium, they will take advantage of the Foxes, who are currently near the top of the table and suffering through a terrible run of results. This game might have a significant impact on who wins the title at the beginning of next month.

Tom Fellows, a 21-year-old promising future talent at the Hawthorns, might make all the difference for Carlos Corberan’s team away to Leicester, despite his mostly ineffective performance against Sunderland last time out.

Conversely, because his contract is up this summer and his worth is lower than Fellows’, one aging winger’s time in the West Midlands may come to an end.

The future of Matt Phillips at West Brom

Matt Phillips, now 33, was once bought for a whooping £6 million when the Baggies were still vying for Premier League riches, but it’s safe to say the sum is now far from justified. For the seasoned attacker, who has only lately rejoined the team after missing the end of 2023 and the first few months of 2024 due to injury setback after injury setback, it has indeed been a frustrating season. Apart from his excruciating miss against Ipswich Town, Phillips has excelled this season in spurts while healthy, tallying three goals and three assists in 23 games. But it appears like Phillips’ position in the Baggies camp is no longer as secure with players like Fellows emerging when he has been absent and Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston lighting up the second tier since signing in January through the back channels. Given that the veteran’s contract expires in the summer, West Brom may potentially lose its esteemed employee at no cost.

It would be a huge mistake on the part of West Brom to watch him leave the building for nothing, even though his transfer value has significantly decreased since he signed for the club eight years ago for £6 million.

The 2024 transfer value of Matt Phillips

Football Transfers reports that Phillips’ 2024 net worth is a much smaller €1m (£853k). In contrast, breakout star Fellows, who has just been on the scene this season, has a larger net worth of €1.4m (£1.1m).

The homegrown Baggies hero, however, surpasses Phillips’ season totals as well, capitalizing on the 33-year-old’s regular visits to the Hawthorns treatment room to amass an even better five goals and four assists from 34 games across all competitions.

The future looks bright for Fellows in a Baggies strip, whilst Phillips looks to be staring his exit from the club straight in the face as Corberan looks to potentially clear out a number of the more veteran members of his squad soon.

Adam Reach, Erik Pieters and Yann M’Vila to name a few all come in as being 30 years and older like Phillips, with that trio all out of contract in the summer as well.

Given that Phillips, a winger who earns £20,000 a week, has had a lengthy and illustrious career in the West Midlands, it appears likely that there will be a clear out of these old heads.

Even if it’s a difficult decision to make, this might be the right one because Fellows will only get better.

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