Report: Ashley Phillips is already impressing on loan from Tottenham

Ashley Phillips has made a bright start to life at Plymouth Argyle since joining the Championship side on loan, earning praise from his new boss, Ian Foster, and winning the Player of the Match award for his debut.

The 18-year-old defender was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer from Blackburn Rovers for a fee believed to be in the region of just £3m (The Standard).

Despite promising signs, and Phillips being named on the bench for the senior squad on multiple occasions, we are yet to see the talented centre-half get his first-team debut under Ange Postecoglou this season.

With Spurs also signing Radu Dragusin in the January transfer window to provide further cover in the centre of defence, the decision was made to send Phillips out on loan to gain valuable first-team experience.

Ashley Phillips earns mass praise on Plymouth debut

The youngster was thrown into the starting line-up for Plymouth straight away, alongside fellow new signing Darko Gyabi, with Phillips performing brilliantly in the 1-1 draw against Huddersfield at the weekend.

Speaking to the official Plymouth Argyle website, his manager Ian Foster said: “They were excellent, both of them. They fit in the group incredibly well, and that’s credit to the other boys. We’ve welcomed them.

“I don’t look at birth certificates when I pick teams. They’re both teenagers coming into what is a very, very difficult game and I thought they both handled it really, really well. Ashley was solid throughout the game. I thought his in-possession game was good.”

In fact, Phillips’ performance was so good, that he won the Fans’ Player of the Match award, with his display described as “outstanding.”

👏🏻 The Fans' Player of the Match on debut.

Outstanding today, Ash. 💪🏼#pafc pic.twitter.com/N66l2ko7qY

— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) January 13, 2024

Spurs Web Opinion

It is great to see Ashley Phillips make such a strong start to life at Plymouth. Hopefully he can get a good run of games together, keep showcasing his ability, and come back to Spurs in the summer ready to fight for a first team spot next season.

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