West Bromwich Albion star praises Crawley Town for his development as he prepares to emulate Reds' play-off glory

The Englishman has broken into the first team for the Baggies this season, having joined the club at the under-10s level and worked his way through the academy system.

The 20-year-old spent the 2022/23 season with the Red Devils, making 40 appearances with the club. And now he preparing for a Championship play-off semi-final against Southampton.

Fellows, now an England under-20 international, said: “People always say you need experience, you need games under your belt in order for them to be able to trust you.

“My mindset was always once I've played a season with the West Bromwich Albion Under 21s, I wanted to go out on loan and test myself at whatever level league I went to.

“Crawley were the only ones really that gave me the opportunity and I'm grateful to them.”

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The midfielder helped the club finish 22nd in League Two, barely escaping relegation from the Football League.

Many envision loans as helping instil a winning mentality into players, but Fellows disagrees, believing that the struggles faced last season were the best thing that could have happened to him.

“If I'd have gone on loan last year and maybe would have been top of the league and won every game, would I have learned more from that or would have learned more about the season I had.

“We were around the bottom, we would be fighting in every match and it was it was nerve wracking, the idea of dropping out the Football League is a big thing and there was a lot of pressure.”

“You're testing yourself against men. When you’re in youth football your age matters, but at that level it doesn't. It was a great experience and one you learn a lot from.”

While his experience at the Broadfield Stadium was valuable for his progress on the pitch, Fellows feels it was just as important for his growth off it too.

Being a teenager and living away from home for the first time proved challenging for the winger.

“It wasn't just important on the pitch, it was off the pitch too.” said Fellows “Living on your own, asking to do your own cooking, your own washing. You know, it's not. It's not easy.

“You appreciate how good it is living at home where you’ve got everything set out.

“If you wanted to come home for a day, you’d drive on the day and the next day you'd have to go drive all the way back to Crawley, it was tough but I definitely think it was a good experience.”