Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly won the race to sign highly-rated Blackburn Rovers defender Ashley Phillips.
The 2005-born centre-back broke into the Rovers' first team under Jon Dahl Tomasson last season, making 14 appearances for the Championship side in total.
Phillips started five Championship matches for Blackburn, who finished seventh in the table and only missed out on a spot in the playoffs on goal difference.
The 6ft 3in defender also made three FA Cup appearances as Tomasson's side reached the quarter-finals, as well as starting two matches in the EFL Cup, where his side lost to Nottingham Forest in the fourth round.
A former Wales youth international, Phillips has since represented England from Under-17 level and has played every minute of the Under-19s last six European Championship qualifying matches.
© Reuters
Phillips's breakthrough had apparently attracted the attention of both Manchester United and Chelsea, although Blackburn tied the teenager down to a new contract until 2025 last year.
However, according to journalist James Nursey, Tottenham have beaten their Premier League rivals to the signing of Phillips, whose arrival in North London should be finalised on Wednesday.
Nursey adds that Phillips will immediately fly out to Asia in order to link up with Ange Postecoglou's team, who lost 3-2 to West Ham United in their opening pre-season friendly in Perth on Tuesday.
The England Under-19 international could therefore be in line for an immediate debut against Leicester City in Thailand on July 23, or he may alternatively earn his first minutes against Lion City Sailors in Singapore on July 26.
Despite only tying Phillips a new deal less than a year ago, Blackburn could now face a mass exodus of players and staff after their owners imposed cuts of 20%, which has allegedly led manager Tomasson to consider his future as well.
Spurs are set to capitalise on Blackburn's financial cutbacks with a deal for Ashley Phillips, which should be finalised tomorrow. The starlet will then travel to Asia immediately to be with their first team #BRFC #THFC
— James Nursey (@JamesNursey) July 18, 2023
Should all go to plan, Phillips will become Spurs' fifth signing of the summer, following Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario, Manor Solomon and James Maddison to North London.
The latter three players made their debuts in Tuesday's loss to West Ham, where Postecoglou accepted a portion of the blame for the goals that his side conceded at Optus Stadium.
Tottenham could still move for another centre-back after securing the signing of Phillips, and Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently expressed confidence that Clement Lenglet would join the Lilywhites permanently following last year's loan spell.
Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven, Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba and Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo are also rumoured to be on Spurs' defensive shortlist, and a few exits could free up space for more centre-backs to arrive.
Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga could all be axed in the coming weeks, while Eric Dier is only under contract for another year but supposedly wants to stay and prove his worth to Postecoglou.
Ben Knapton
