Sky Sports pundit Alan McInally was blown away by Ashley Phillips’ debut for Plymouth Argyle and is convinced that the young centre-back is going to be a ‘superstar’ in the future.
There was some excitement about Phillips’ arrival at Tottenham last summer, with the North London club securing the 18-year-old’s services on the back of his breakthrough season for Blackburn Rovers.
While the teenager made the matchday squad on several occasions during the last six months, Spurs fans never got a chance to see him in action for the senior side.
Tottenham’s decision to loan Phillips to Plymouth raised a few eyebrows, particularly given the injury problems the likes of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have had this season, but perhaps Ange Postecoglou now feels that he has sufficient cover at centre-half after the arrival of Radu Dragusin.
Is Ashley Phillips a superstar in the making at Spurs?
In his first game for the Championship side, Phillips showcased just why there is so much excitement about him, putting in a solid display after slotting into the right side of Plymouth’s back three.
The on-loan Tottenham youngster helped the club emerge with a hard-fought 1-1 draw from Huddersfield and Plymouth boss Ian Foster was delighted with the centre-back’s debut, describing the former Rovers star’s performance as ‘excellent’ to the club’s official website.
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McInally was just as impressed with Phillips, waxing lyrical about the Spurs man after his display on Saturday.
The former Aston Villa striker told Paul Merson on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday: “Merse, remember about 20 years ago we spoke about a young full-back called Mr Trippier, I’ve got another one for us.
“Ashley Phillips, 18 years old, on loan from Spurs, centre-back, boy’s gonna be a superstar!”
Spurs Web Opinion
Postecoglou’s decision to allow Phillips to leave on loan was the right call as he needs competitive minutes under his belt at this stage of his career.
Perhaps the club might consider sending him on loan to a Premier League side in the summer if Ange feels that he is not quite ready to play regularly for Spurs.
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