Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold talks about Ashley Phillips playing right-back in recent friendly
In a recent appearance on Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham, Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold talked about young centre-back Ashley Phillips playing at right-back in Ange Postecoglou’s side’s first game of the pre-season.
The first Spurs outing of 2024/25 saw them thrash Cambridge United 7-2, which featured a hattrick from Welsh forward Brennan Johnson.
With the senior centre-backs away at international duty, Gold found it odd that Phillips was slotted in as a fullback.
“It’s an interesting one and I didn’t get a second source on this so I can’t go with any real confidence, but I heard a suggestion that at one point, Ashley Phillips was playing at right-back, which seems odd as the only natural centre-back of any senior nature, so whether that was just filling in for a time when someone else came off, I don’t know. It may well be that he played centre-back for a longer period.”
Gold, as quoted by TBR Football
The England U19 and U18 international, having turned 19 last month, moved to Spurs from Blackburn Rovers last summer on the back of a £3m move.
Phillips spent last season on loan at Plymouth Argyle in the Championship.
Phillips currently has a £15k-per-week contract with Spurs that is set to run until June 2028.
Right-back a position of concern for Spurs
In a setup that demands industry from all its players, the fullbacks of Ange Postecoglou’s teams tend to be particularly demanded of movement both on and off the ball, as was evident last season and, before that, at Celtic.
With Emerson Royal seemingly on his way out, Pedro Porro a bit of a liability in defence, and Ashley Gray only 18, the right-hand side of the Spurs defence is in need of a bit of reinforcement.
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Add to the fact that Phillips is a promising defender belying his age, one can see why Postecoglou would have wanted to see him play in an unconventional role that tests not only his flexibility but his ability on the ball.
