Carlos Corberan wowed by Tom Fellows as verdict shared on West Brom sensation
Carlos Corberan has been impressed by young West Brom forward Tom Fellows during pre-season and has earned an opportunity to be involved with the first team.
The Express and Star reported (4 August) that following Fellow’s loan to League Two’s Crawley Town he has caught the eye of Corberan, who does insist that the 20-year-old needs more time before having a major role in the squad.
However, a strong pre-season has seen Fellows receive strong praise from his manager, with the youngster tipped for more first-team minutes in the Championship.
Corberan said: “I still think we didn’t see everything that he has because he has a lot of skills and doesn’t always use everything he has.
“But now he is breaking this step, to start to believe in himself and to start to show the things on the pitch.
“He is one player we need to be calm and give him time because he needs time to show what he has. He’s a very quick player and can manage the right and left foot and he can beat players with the one-v-one – maybe with this description you think I am talking about the best player in the world!
“But he is a player with a lot of positive things that he needs his time to develop, we have the confidence in him he can be involved in the team because he has deserved, for me, this opportunity.”
Big things to come?
While it is easy to get carried away with a youngster’s pre-season performances, earning such praise from the manager means they’re at least one to keep an eye on.
While not a prolific forward, having scored no goals during his Crawley Town spell, Fellows is clearly doing something right on the training pitch and in friendlies to make Corberan notice.
With a strict budget this summer, the Baggies will likely rely on some of their academy talent to fill the numbers and make an impact next season, including defender Caleb Taylor and attacker Jovan Malcolm, meaning Fellows has a real chance of getting decent Championship minutes.
But Baggies fans should err on the side of caution when it comes to Fellow’s progression. Training ground ability does not always translate to in-match ability. Corberan was very clear that he still needs to undergo more development before he’s the finished article.
But he’s showing the raw natural skill that is required to reach the top level and seemingly growing in confidence. Now he must aim to improve his goalscoring and he could become a gem for West Brom.
In other West Brom news, a former France international striker has sent new Baggies recruit Josh Maja a message over social media.