REPORT: Spurs close to signing 17-year old Blackburn CB Ashley Phillips

This crazy summer of Tottenham Hotspur transfer rumors continues unabated. The latest rumor to emerge from the wilds of Bat Country is courtesy of the Mail (sigh, yes, I know) and suggests that Tottenham’s Managing Director of Football is still keeping one eye on the club’s future. The report suggests that Spurs are on the verge of signing promising 17-year old CB Ashley Phillips from Blackburn Rovers this summer.

What can I tell you about Phillips? Not much. He played about 900 minutes for Blackburn’s reserves in the PL2 last season, scoring two goals, and started both of Blackburn’s two matches this season, in the Championship and Carabao Cup. He’s also an England U17 international. Seems good! He’s apparently a player that Spurs have been tracking for some time, and Paratici is reportedly set to travel to Reading to watch Phillips play there today before possibly giving his blessing for the club to sign him.

This is quite clearly a signing for the future, not the present. The article doesn’t mention it, but I’d have to think that if Spurs are targeting another young player, like they have done with Josh Keeley, Destiny Udogie, and even Djed Spence, that there’s probably going to be a loan back to Blackburn. It wouldn’t make much sense otherwise, especially on Blackburn’s end.

Now, obviously the usual “It’s the Mail” caveats apply here, but even the Mail often will have the broad strokes of deals reported correctly, especially when it comes to transfers for younger players. I’m inclined to believe this. Paratici does really seem to be working on amassing a “loan army” of younger players that can hopefully developed and then worked into the side in the coming years once Tottenham’s older players begin to phase out. It’s a smart play, even if some of these signings (like Jack Clarke) don’t always hit — these are the kinds of young footballers that smart clubs like Spurs SHOULD be going after.

I don’t have a good read on what kind of a player Phillips is, but if the club wants him odds are he’s pretty good and has a high ceiling. Worth a shot, if you ask me.