West Bromwich Albion could wave goodbye to this ageing attacker in the summer.
West Bromwich Albion will look to recover from their current downturn in the Championship, in which they have only won once in their previous five second-tier games, when they go to title-chasing Leicester City on Saturday.
The Baggies will take advantage of the Foxes’ poor run of performances near the top of the table when they visit the King Power Stadium, in a game that might have far-reaching implications for who wins the title at the start of next month.
Tom Fellows might make a difference for Carlos Corberan’s side away at Leicester, despite a rather anonymous performance against Sunderland last time out, with the 21-year-old a promising potential talent at the Hawthorns.
On the contrary, one elderly winger’s tenure in the West Midlands could end this summer, with his contract expiring and his worth slipping below that of Fellows.
Once purchased for a bumper £6m when the Baggies were still competing in the riches of the Premier League, it’s fair to say Matt Phillips – now 33 years of age – is now nowhere near worth that lump sum.
It’s been a frustrating season in truth for the experienced attacker, who has only just returned to the side recently after missing the end of 2023 and the first few months of 2024 owing to injury setback after injury setback.
Aside from his agonising mistake against Ipswich Town, Phillips has thrived in spurts this season when completely healthy, scoring three goals and providing three assists in 23 games.
However, with the development of talents such as Fellows coming through while Phillips has been injured, as well as Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston lighting up the second division since entering in January from down the channels, it appears that his place in the Baggies camp is no longer as secure.
With the veteran’s contract expiring in the summer, West Brom may end up losing their renowned servant for free.
Even with his transfer value taking a significant tumble since joining for £6m eight years ago, this would be a major blunder on West Brom’s behalf to see him walk out of the building for nothing.
According to Football Transfers, Phillips’ net worth in 2024 is now €1m (£853k), while breakout wonder Fellows has a higher net worth of €1.4m (£1.1m) despite only making his debut this season.
The homegrown Baggies star also outperforms Phillips this season, benefiting from the 33-year-old’s numerous appearances in the Hawthorns treatment room to score five goals and four assists in 34 games across all competitions.
