Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly tracking the progress of highly-rated Blackburn Rovers defensive prospect Ashley Phillips.
According to The Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping a keen eye on the development of 16-year-old Blackburn Rovers prospect Ashley Phillips and wish to add the youngster to their youth squad.
Phillips started his youth football career at Curzon Ashton before moving to the Blackburn Rovers youth academy at a young age. The teenage centre-half has made rapid progress through the ranks at the club, breaking into the Under-18 side in January last year aged just 15 years. He has made 11 appearances for the team and has already been bumped up to the reserve team this season.
Phillips has featured eight times for the Under-23s, scoring two goals in the process. The youngster is yet to make his senior bow for the Riversiders but was named among the substitutes for their FA Cup third-round clash against Wigan Athletic, which they ended up losing 3-2.
The 16-year-old was recently praised heavily by Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray, who said: “He is going to be a mega footballer I’m pretty sure.” The defensive prospect’s potential and growth has not gone unnoticed, with Tottenham taking a keen interest in his progress.
Good 3-0 win in the Youth Cup??⚪️ pic.twitter.com/EyNVZvAkxM
— Ashley Phillips (@AshPhillips05_) January 13, 2022
In recent years, Tottenham have churned out some impressive players from their youth squad. Harry Winks and Japhet Tanganga have become regulars in the first team, while Oliver Skipp is enjoying his breakthrough campaign after an impressive loan spell. More prospects like Alfie Devine, Dane Scarlett and Harvey White are primed to burst onto the scene in the coming seasons.
The Lilywhites are intent on continuing to produce players for the senior side by strengthening their youth ranks further. 16-year-old Phillips, to that end, has now emerged as a target for the north London outfit.
The England Under-17 international’s contract expires in the summer of 2023. But given how highly Blackburn rate him, it is unlikely that they will let him leave without putting up a fight. So it will be interesting to see if Tottenham can get their hands on Ashley Phillips in the near future.
As for the first-team squad, manager Antonio Conte is seeking defensive reinforcements in the summer and has identified Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni as a target, while there is also strong interest in LOSC Lille centre-half Sven Botman.
