Tottenham youngster Ashley Phillips is performing well on loan at Stoke City
Ashley Phillips left Tottenham Hotspur to join Championship club Stoke City on a season-long loan at the start of August.
The teenager struggled for game time initially upon his arrival at the Bet365 Stadium. This would have then concerned the chiefs at the Hotspur Way and head coach Ange Postecoglou. However, the defender has since turned things around, making four consecutive starts in the Championship.
Ashley Phillips has established himself as a regular at the back under new manager Narcis Pelach. He has delivered some fine performances, helping Stoke City climb to 13th in the table.
John Wenham—the owner of the reputable Spurs podcast Lilywhite Rose—has praised Phillips for working his way back into the Stoke side. He is optimistic that the young defender could still make it to the PFA Championship Team of the Year.
“He’s now back in the Stoke side as a regular,” John Wenham exclusively told Tottenham News.
“That was a really important first step. From this point forward, it is just about continuous game time for Phillips. I really wanted this loan to be one where he finishes with 40 appearances and perhaps even gets himself into the PFA Championship Team of the Year.
“Then we would address the situation and look to line up a Premier League loan for him. However, for now, it’s just about him continuing to perform and getting into the Stoke team every week.”
When Phillips made the temporary switch to Stoke, many at Spurs would have thus expected him to kick on and become a key player for the Championship club. However, instead, Phillips endured a difficult couple of months at his new club, having barely gotten opportunities to impress.
Phillips is starting to show his real worth of late at the Bet365 Stadium, earning the trust of the new Stoke manager and starting games regularly. It is crucial for the Manchester-born talent to continue getting regular minutes in the Championship. The centre-back’s confidence is back and he will want to continue his form, looking to complete a strong full season in the second tier of English football and return to N17 with some valuable experience.
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Earning a place in the PFA Championship Team of the Year would be some achievement for Phillips, but for that to happen, he has to continue to feature and perform consistently for the Potters. Like Wenham, Big Ange is likely to have taken notice of the on-loan Spurs starlet’s recent development.
