Tottenham: Ashley Phillips continues to improve while on loan with Plymouth Argyle
Tottenham have a serious talent on their hands in the form of 18-year-old Ashley Phillips.
Spurs are currently well-stocked at centre-back with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven as well as Radu Dragusin, who is struggling to get minutes since his big-money switch from Genoa.
It demonstrates just how much depth Ange Postecoglou has in that area of the pitch, and that depth is only set to improve when Luka Vuskovic arrives in North London.
However, even with all that talent on display, Phillips’ recent performances while on loan in the Championship with Plymouth Argyle suggest that he will soon be a first-team regular at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Phillips spent much of the first part of the 2023/24 campaign on the bench or playing with Spurs’ Under-21s, and the club’s decision to send him out on loan (Tottenham Hotspur Official Website, 8 January) was clearly an inspired one.
He has been a regular for Plymouth Argyle since making the temporary switch and his confident displays at the back demonstrate that he is ready for senior football, even though he is yet to celebrate his 19th birthday.
By the time the 2024/25 campaign gets underway, the defender will have reached that milestone and his return to Hotspur Way will leave Postecoglou with a tough decision to make.
If the Australian has been watching on he will have seen that Phillips is only getting better with each passing display, with his performance during Plymouth Argyle’s 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (9 March) arguably his most impressive yet.
Ashley Phillips looks ready to make the jump to Tottenham and the Premier League
Spurs signed Phillips from Blackburn for £3million last summer (via Evening Standard, 5 August) and the centre-back returned to his former club this weekend.
On what was his first match back at Ewood Park, Phillips was clearly keen to show his former teammates and coaches just how much he has progressed in such a short space of time.
As per Sofascore, the Englishman was involved in an all-action display, excelling in all areas of the pitch.
Defensively he made five clearances and two tackles while he also won 100 per cent of his ground duels, although he did struggle slightly in the air, winning just two of his seven aerial duels.
On the ball, he looked incredibly confident as he completed 94 per cent of his passes and only gave possession away five times, which was significantly fewer than his centre-back partners Lewis Gibson and Julio Pleguezuelo who gave the ball away 12 and 14 times respectively.
Phillips completed four of his six long balls forward and his passes proved effective as he created one big chance.
Finally, he completed 100 per cent of his dribble attempts in a clear message to Postecoglou that he is suited to the Australian’s style of play, which requires his centre-backs to be confident on the ball.
If Phillips continues to perform at this level, a place in Postecoglou’s first-team squad next season might not seem so far-fetched, especially if Spurs make a return to Europe and suddenly find themselves with a much more demanding fixture schedule.
In other Tottenham news, a player linked with a move to Spurs is set to quit his club this summer.
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