West Brom: Carlos Corberan shares what he loved about ‘dangerous’ Tom Fellows v Swansea
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan raved about the “very dangerous” Tom Fellows and particularly loved the commitment he showed in the defeat to Swansea City.
The Baggies’ issues in their forward line were exacerbated when Jeremy Sarmiento was recalled by Brighton prior to the 1-0 loss on New Year’s Day.
It meant Fellows was provided an opportunity and more are likely to come in the next few weeks with Grady Diangana off to the Africa Cup of Nations.
The 20-year-old played the entire game in south Wales and Corberan cannot wait to keep working with the youngster to improve his performances for West Brom.
In quotes reported by the Birmingham Mail (5 January), Corberan said: “When you look at the results out of context you make a type of analysis, we didn’t win any of the games we played away, but when you put the games in context I find a lot of reasons to look forward and keep working with a player like Fellows, or a player like Reach, I was watching a lot of commitment in the pitch.
“I was very pleased with Fellows. For me he was very, very dangerous in the first half, it was a challenge for him because it was the first start in the XI, it is a long time from Sunderland where he played 60 minutes. Before Sunderland he didn’t play 60 minutes [under Corberan] or since. Physically he gave the right answer to the game, he was creating good possibilities to the team, I am very pleased to have him with us and I am pleased with his performance.”
Opportunity knocks
The Baggies have had more than their share of bad luck when it comes to injuries this season and both John Swift and Jed Wallace were absent for the Swansea defeat, two key players Corberan will be desperate to have back available.
With Sarmiento heading back, and then baffingly sent back straight out on loan to Ipswich Town, and Matt Phillips, Josh Maja and Daryl Dike among those still on the long-term injury list, Corberan had a dearth of options to choose from.
But in adversity, there is opportunity and Fellows is one player who has a huge chance now to showcase his own talents. Still only 20, there is a lot of hope about Fellows and what he can bring to this West Brom team.
Corberan clearly sees a lot of potential and the boss has a good track record of working with young players and blooding their potential. With Diangana also unavailable now for the next month or so, Fellows should be viewing this as a fantastic opportunity.
In other West Brom news, Alex Mowatt send a four-word message to Sarmiento after his news.