Sheffield United eyeing up Tottenham duo as part of two-pronged transfer plan | OneFootball

Sheffield United are looking for reinforcements, and two under consideration are the young Tottenham Hotspur pair, Ashley Phillips and Alfie Devine.

Sheffield United could be set to launch a double raid for Tottenham duo Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips as they look to rebuild ahead of the new season, according to reports.

The Blades have had a tumultuous summer so far, since missing out on promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season. United lost the Championship play-off final to a last-gasp Sunderland goal, and the fallout from this defeat has been considerable.

It is widely anticipated that manager Chris Wilder will be sacked in the next few days, with speculation indicating that his replacement could be the former Southampton, Reading and Hull City manager Ruben Selles.

Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips are under consideration by Sheffield United

The Sheffield Star reports that United are considering moving for young Tottenham pairing Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips as they seek to rebuild ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Both players have spent the last two seasons out on loan, and The Star reports that United are keen to replace some of the six loan players they had throughout the 2024-25 season, but who have now returned to their parent clubs and haven't been signed on a permanent basis.

Phillips was impressive at the heart of Stoke City's defence in the 2024-25, which was his second loan stint away from Spurs after the summer of 2023's permanent move from Blackburn, having also taken in time at Plymouth Argyle too.

Attacking midfielder Devine meanwhile spent the campaign across the English Channel in Belgium with Westerlo, scoring six times in the Belgian Pro League, and he also has EFL experience with Port Vale and Plymouth Argyle, the latter where he was a team-mate of Phillips.

United's chances of taking these two players on loan may be helped by the changes at Devine and Philips' parent club since the end of the 2024/25 season.

Ange Postecoglou was sacked and replaced by Thomas Frank, and with these two players already fairly low down the pecking order at the club, another season out on loan learning their trade could be good for Spurs, with them having a new head coach at their parent club who's less familiar with them.

Neither have yet made a Premier League appearance for Spurs, but Alfie Devine became Spurs' youngest ever player and goalscorer when he made his senior debut for them against Marine in the FA Cup in 2021 and scored.

Devine was sent on loan to Port Vale for the first half of the 2023/24 season, and then to Plymouth Argyle for the second half along with Phillips, who won Plymouth's Young Player of the Year award for his performances.

They are very different types of player. Devine is an attacking midfielder who made headlines by getting himself sent off in an altercation with Chelsea's Danny Drinkwater during an under-23s game in December 2020. Phillips, on the other hand, is a 6'4" central defender who's previously been praised for his ball-playing ability.

But both are outstanding young talents, and if Sheffield United are looking to flesh out their loanees for the new season, they would make an excellent place to start, as both are clearly on an upward trajectory when it comes to their careers - Bramall Lane could be a good place for the pair to develop further.