Tottenham Hotspur were linked with a move for the Blackburn Rovers defender Ashley Phillips in recent weeks.
However, the north London club have not been able to sign the 18-year-old defensive prospect so far and journalist Tom Barclay has now revealed to the Tottenham Way podcast that the deal is complicated.
Apparently, Spurs were hoping to sign the player for a nominal price this summer but Blackburn Rovers’ demands have complicated any potential move.
Barclay added that the media were led to believe that it was a done deal and the player would be heading to Tottenham.
“Even the Ashley Phillips deal which we were led to believe it was basically a done deal, but that seems even more complicated from Blackburn’s demands for him, and he’s not supposed to be one of these two new centre-backs, he’s a younger player to come into it, so they’re having problems on that front,” Barclay said.
The 18-year-old is highly rated in English football and he has a big future ahead of him. There is no doubt that he could be an important first-team player for Tottenham in the coming seasons.
It remains to be seen whether Spurs can agree on a deal with Blackburn in the coming weeks.
Tottenham need to bring in defensive reinforcements and they are thought to be looking at Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van de Ven as well.
While Philips might not be ready to improve their first-team squad just yet, he could be an important signing in the long run.
The 18-year-old has the attributes to develop into a quality Premier League defender and a move to Tottenham would accelerate his development.
