Middlesbrough facing new twist in £20m Spurs transfer chase | OneFootball

Middlesbrough's move for Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Ashley Phillips has stalled

By the end of the summer transfer window, few teams in the EFL, or even Europe for that matter, will likely have had better windows than Middlesbrough, though their business has recently hit a roadblock.

According to the Daily Mail, Middlesbrough's move for Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Ashley Phillips has 'hit a hitch', and for now, negotiations have stalled, with no clear indicator as to when they may resume.

It's also unclear at this point what that hitch is at this stage, with neither Boro nor Spurs commenting on the matter.

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Phillips, 21, spent last season out on loan with Stoke City, and made 40 appearances for the Potters in the Championship and impressed under Mark Robins. This was the second loan spell the England youth international had in the Potteries, and his third away from Spurs, with his first coming with Plymouth Argyle.

It was first reported by Alan Nixon via Patreon a couple of weeks ago of Boro's interest in the defender, as Pete O'Rourke then reported via X last Wednesday that the Teesside outfit were in 'advanced negotiations' with Spurs for the defender.

, had been reported to have been agreed between the two clubs, but now the deal has hit a snag, and whether that snag will prove to put the deal in jeopardy remains to be seen.

Boro had hoped to make Phillips their seventh addition of the summer, in what is looking to be a truly incredible window for the club, but for now, talks have stalled, as we await an update to this saga.

Why does Middlesbrough want Ashley Phillips?

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Phillips, despite his age, has already amassed over a century of appearances in the Championship, and during his time with Plymouth and Stoke, announced himself as one of the best young defenders the division has to offer.

The Englishman joined Spurs in the summer of 2023 for around £2 million, and, without making a single appearance for the North London outfit, has the potential to collect a fee ten times that amount if all of the add-ons are met.

Boro saw each of Matt Targett, Dael Fry, and Darragh Lenihan leave the club this summer, as defensive reinforcements quickly became a priority for Swedish head coach Kim Hellberg to address, with Phillips being sounded out.

It would be expected that the 21-year-old would slot in alongside Adilson Malanda in the heart of the Middlesbrough defence, with Max Arfsten or Neto Borges at left-back, and either Luke Ayling or Callum Brittain on the right.

Phillips' ability to not only put up exceptional defensive numbers at this level, but also be a useful component in building out from the back, makes him a highly attractive option for Hellberg to nobody's surprise, and still just 21, there is ample room for improvement for the Englishman, and if Boro can unlock his potential, that potential £20 million fee would be a steal.

Middlesbrough are still having an incredible transfer window amid the Ashley Phillips hiccup

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Though a deal for Phillips has, for now, hit the buffers, it is still proving to be an exceptional window for Middlesbrough.

Although the £24 million departure of Hayden Hackney to Everton will have come as a huge blow for Boro, they have wasted no time reinvesting that money back into the squad, with each of Kyle Joseph, Will Lankshear, Max Berhalter, Max Arfsten, and Radek Vitek arriving for at least seven-figure fees, with Myles Peart-Harris joining on a free.

Lankshear's deal is worth an initial £10 million, rising to a potential £20 million, and Vitek's an initial £7 million, rising to £14 million, with Boro banking on their future success.

Supporters can take solace in that a deal for Joseph had stalled earlier on in the window before being completed weeks later, and whilst they will be hoping that Phillips' case doesn't take that long, they will remain confident that it gets over the line sooner rather than later.