Middlesbrough have signed defender, Ashley Phillips from Tottenham Hotspur for an initial £7m transfer fee.
Phillips’ move came after a successful loan at Stoke City across the last two seasons where he registered one goal and one assist in 83 total appearances across both campaigns combined.
The 21-year-old however found himself surplus to requirement at Tottenham this summer after their manager, Roberto De Zerbi revamped his defensive selection, having led Spurs to Premier League survival on the final day of last season at the expense of West Ham.
Middlesbrough consequently managed to sign Phillips for an initial £7m fee in a deal which could cost up to £20m if £13m worth of performance-related add-on clauses are met, whilst Spurs have inserted a 20% sell-on clause and future matching rights in event of other clubs wanting to sign him.
Phillips has signed a five-year contract until June 2031 after a minor unspecified issue led to delays in the transfer being completed, and is now happy to finally have made the move.
“I’m very excited to be here and can’t wait to be on the pitch. This is an amazing club and it deserves to be in the Premier League.
“I hope to be a good addition to what’s already a fantastic squad, and hopefully we can achieve great things together this season.”
Phillips began his career at Curzon Aston before he joined Blackburn in 2017 and went on to graduate into their first-team squad in the 2022-23 season, which saw him make his professional debut in a 4-0 first-round victory at home to Hartlepool in August 2022.
He went on to make 14 appearances in total by the end of that season which led Tottenham to sign him in August 2023, although he went straight into their Under-21s squad before he was loaned out to Plymouth in January 2024.
During his time with Plymouth, he made 20 appearances and helped the Pilgrims preserve their Championship status on the final day of the 2023-24 season.
Phillips then spent the last two seasons at Stoke where he scored his first professional goal in a 3-2 defeat at Southampton in the fourth round of the 2024-25 Carabao Cup.
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