By Dan Newbould,Phil Blanche

Copyright birminghammail

West Brom sporting director Andrew Nestor has revealed the reasoning behind Tom Fellows’ departure. One of the players the club sold this summer, Fellows was a fan favourite and academy product. Nestor explained: “It’s always a difficult decision to sell a player like Tom. He’s beloved in this community and came up through our academy, and I think that makes it a bit different sometimes when you compare the situation to other players who maybe didn’t come through that pathway within the club. Coming into this window we had a very clear-cut strategy. We had been signing players in anticipation of what we knew would be our outgoings. That allowed us to be patient with our outgoings to ensure we got the best value that we could. “Sometimes those replacements are like-for-like replacements and sometimes it’s about taking those resources and deploying them elsewhere in the squad to ensure we’re well-balanced and at the level we need to be at to compete. With Tom, the offer we received from Southampton was the best offer we’ve ever received for him. Given that he’s a homegrown player, there’s a benefit from a PSR perspective as well. “There’s also the human element of it. We knew that this could be an eventuality. “Back in January I spoke with Tom one-on-one and we had spoken with his agent about what we would do in certain cases and how the club sees the situation, but also wanting to make sure that whatever move happened, if there were to be one, that it would also be right for Tom.” Meanwhile, top prospect Ollie Bostock has become the latest Albion youngster to commit his future to the club after signing a new two-year deal and he wants this contract to take him into first-team football. Penning a new deal which runs until June 2027, the 2023/24 Academy Player of the Year enjoyed an eye-catching season last time around, playing an instrumental part in the Baggies’ run to the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals, chipping in with two goals and two assists amongst many of his achievements. Bostock said: “I am very proud to extend my time at Albion. I want this contract to take me into first-team football, whether that be here or on loan.” Academy manager Richard Stevens added: “It was important for us to ensure Ollie’s long-term future was at Albion. “We will make sure he gets everything he needs to develop and grow into the footballer we know he can become.”