Tottenham Hotspur and Daniel Levy have done an admirable job of moving players on in the ongoing summer transfer window, be it on a permanent basis or in a development role. The club has secured the immediate future of multiple highly regarded academy stars.
And the Lilywhites are said to be sorting out the future for another of their academy players, Ashely Phillips. The club have announced a deal with Stoke City over a potential loan transfer for the highly regarded 19-year-old defender.
Championship challenge
The North Londoners brought in the youngster last summer after activating his £2m release clause and handing the defender a five-year deal at Hotspur away. Phillips earns £15k a week on his current contract and has been compared to Kieran Tripper.
“Merse, remember about 20 years ago we spoke about a young full-back called Mr Trippier, I’ve got another one for us. Ashley Phillips, 18 years old, on loan from Spurs, centre-back, boy’s gonna be a superstar!”
He remained at the club for six initial months before moving to Plymouth Argyle in January along with Spurs academy star Alfie Devine.
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The teenager played a pivotal role in Plymouth Argyle’s late escape from relegation after making eighteen outings while earning the club’s Young Player of the Season award, despite only moving in January.
North Londoners send Phillips to Stoke City for regular game time
Based on his performances in the previous campaign, Stoke City have been fortifying interest in landing the 19-year-old to bolster their defence this season for some time.
Ashely Phillips did get a brief opportunity in the pre-season, although he didn’t get an opportunity to appear on Ange Postecoglou’s bench in the Lilywhites’ first game against Leicester City.
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For the player, it is an interesting opportunity as he will get to feature regularly, and game time under his belt would aid his development.
For Tottenham, this move again sees one of their star academy players aiding his next steps before having a look at him next summer.