West Bromwich Albion would have come away from Deadline Day reasonably happy with how the day unfolded, adding in Celtic winger Mikey Johnston to the Baggies group at the death.
Carlos Corberan's men didn't quite manage to get a deal over the line for Aston Villa defender Calum Chambers despite talk of a last-gasp move happening, but being able to tie young talent Tom Fellows down to a new long-term deal was another highlight away from any failed moves during a largely productive transfer window.
The promotion-chasing Baggies were at one stage also linked with a move for Huddersfield Town gem Brahima Diarra, but Corberan might well already have an energetic and tenacious midfielder similar to Diarra in homegrown talent Fenton Heard, who is beginning to make waves in the first-team fold.
Fenton Heard's statistics at youth level
Handed a senior debut in West Brom's convincing 4-1 win over non-league Aldershot Town in the FA Cup last month, it was a milestone that had been coming for Heard who has excelled at youth level for the Baggies for some time now.
The 19-year-old didn't look out of his place in a midfield trio comprised of otherwise experienced figures in Nathaniel Chalobah and Alex Mowatt either, coming away from the big occasion with his head rightly held high.
Predominantly playing as an attacking midfielder in the youth set-up – alongside filling in down the wings if called upon to do so – Heard has shown why he was thrown into the deep end by Corberan in the Premier League 2 this season, with two goals next to his name from ten appearances.
With midfield target Diarra operating in a similar role for the Terriers, it would've been illogical from the Baggies to swoop in for the Mali U23 international when the West Midlands side already have Heard at their disposal keen to kick on and further make an impression.
Fenton Heard's statistics at senior level
It will be intriguing to see if the 19-year-old hotshot gets more first-team opportunities as the games come thick and fast in the Championship in the months to follow, Corberan wary of overplaying the youngster whilst Heard continues to develop and grow.
Yet, the Spaniard named the midfielder amongst his substitutes last game even with the match being a high-intensity Black Country derby versus Wolverhampton Wanderers and so could begin to utilise the exuberant West Brom number 47 on a more frequent basis.
Heard's display against Aldershot certainly caught the eye however, the teenager not fazed one bit by the Hawthorns masses watching on in a calm and controlled debut for the men's team.
Corberan even went out of his way to praise Heard openly in his post-match thoughts after the demolition job of the non-league visitors, stating that the 19-year-old played "with a lot of maturity and game understanding".
The youngster wasn't a distant observer to everything good going on during the match from the hosts' perspective, deftly playing Tom Fellows through early on who then crossed into the area for Nathaniel Chalobah to power home the opener to set West Brom on their way.
Given an 8/10 rating in Joe Chapman's post-match thoughts after the smooth Cup win – with the Birmingham Live journalist stating that Heard 'glided about' the pitch confidently – the Baggies youngster will hope he can actively follow in Fellows' footsteps eventually and break into the first-team set-up to stay there.
There would have been some groans from the West Brom fanbase about one or two more signings not being finalised, but one positive on a deal for Diarra going awry is the fact Heard could be unleashed more and more and take second-tier defences by surprise as Corberan's secret weapon.
