Tottenham complete Ash Phillips signing from Blackburn

The England Under-19 international played 14 times for Blackburn in all competitions last season.

George Sessions
Saturday 05 August 2023 05:18 EDT
Ash Phillips has joined Tottenham (Mike Egerton/PA)
Ash Phillips has joined Tottenham (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tottenham have completed the signing of England youth international Ash Phillips from Blackburn.

Phillips, 18, made eight appearances for Rovers in the Sky Bet Championship last season and has been allowed to leave for Spurs after his £2million release clause became active this weekend.

The centre-back had been close to joining Tottenham last month before negotiations between the clubs stalled, but he has now signed a five-year contract with the Premier League club.

Ex-Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray highlighted the excitement around Phillips back in the 2021-22 season when he described him as “a phenomenal young boy” before he told Lancashire Live: “If you were to create a defender in the mould of how you would want one, this kid has got every attribute.”

Phillips earned his full debut in a Carabao Cup first-round tie against Hartlepool last August and also started Rovers’ 4-1 defeat to Premier League side Nottingham Forest in December.

The teenager had signed his first professional contract with Blackburn by this point and played 14 times in all competitions last season under Jon Dahl Tomasson, winning Championship apprentice of the year.

A regular in England age-group levels since he switched allegiances from Wales in 2021, under-19 international Phillips will continue his development at Tottenham, but the club are still working on plans to further recruit in the centre-back area.

Spurs, who conceded 63 goals in the Premier League last season, are edging closer to the signing of Wolfsburg centre-back Micky van de Ven but have cooled their interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba. Tosin Adarabioyo of Fulham and former loanee Clement Lenglet remain targets.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in