Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly closing in on the signing of a ‘phenomenal’ young defender.
According to James Nursey of The Mirror, Spurs are on the verge of finalising a deal for Blackburn’s Ashley Phillips.
The deal to sign the 18-year-old ‘should be finalised tomorrow’, the journalist wrote on his Twitter feed
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In addition, Phillips will apparently travel to Asia to join up with the Tottenham squad on their pre-season tour.
Spurs have had a fruitful transfer window so far this summer under new manager Ange .
Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison and Manor Solomon have all arrived on Tottenham’s books.
Now, it looks like Spurs will bolster their youth ranks by signing one of the best youngsters in the Championship.
Phillips only turned 18 in June, but he has already made 14 competitive appearances for Rovers’ senior side.
His debut came in August last year as he started in the 4-0 win over Hartlepool in the League Cup.
Phillips then made his league debut a few days later, being named in the starting XI against West Brom.
He has been played sparingly throughout the course of the season, but there’s no doubt he’s an exciting
Former Rovers boss Tony Mowbray sung Phillips’ praises back in 2021, when the player was just 16.
Asked what makes him such an exciting talent, he told Lancashire Live: “He’s 6ft 4in, he’s fast, mobile and can pass it really well.
“He can use both feet, he’s composed. Ash is just a phenomenal young boy; if you were to create a defender in the mould of how you would want one, this kid has got every attribute.
“But he is still just a young boy. He needs time, which is why he’s training with the first-team so that he gets confident and used to the level of intensity. He’s an exciting prospect, is all I’d say.
“But it’s in a position where there is a lot of responsibility, it’s not as a easy to put a really talented young defender in as opposed to a talented young striker where it doesn’t matter if he loses the ball every now and then.
“As a defender, you’re judged on keeping the ball out of the net and winning your individual duels. He is just a boy but he’s got some amazing attributes. We’ve got high hopes that he can progress quickly.”
According to reports, Rovers’ owners have slashed the club’s transfer budget. The Venkys are said to have ‘been advised by their government back home to slash overseas investment’.
With that in mind, there’s a chance they could sell players in order to bring in new recruits, and Tottenham seem to be ready to capitalise.
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