Ashley Phillips is returning to Stoke City from Tottenham Hotspur
Stoke City have pulled off a coup by securing Ashley Phillips on another season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
Mark Robins and Jon Walters have been working as secretly as possible to try to win a surprise return for the 20-year-old centre-half despite significant interest from Championship rivals and clubs in Europe.
Spurs had not been expected to sanction another loan move for this term and Phillips was keen to take the chance to impress new manager Thomas Frank in pre-season.
But they have been accumulating new signings in his position and when Phillips was told he would be allowed out again he was determined that Stoke would be his destination.
Walters said: “Being able to bring Ashley back to Stoke City despite plenty of competition is down to him loving his time here last season so much, and a lot of work that took place behind the scenes to make it happen.
“I know the support he received from our fans was a huge part of his positive experience of our club and I’m looking forward to seeing that bond develop even further.
“With the attributes he has and what he’s already achieved as a central defender at such a young age, Ashley, for me, is a potential full international of the future.
“To have him playing for us for another season is a significant coup and we all can’t wait to see him back on the field in a Stoke City shirt, doing what he does best for the Potters.”
Phillips came second in the player of the season voting behind Viktor Johansson in 2024/25 and joins Maksym Talovierov, Ben Wilmot and Ben Gibson in the centre-back department.
“It feels like unfinished business,” said the England youth international.
“I am absolutely buzzing to be back. I feel really valued, the coaching staff are brilliant, the gaffer has been amazing with me and presented me with the plan he has to help me to develop, it made it a no brainer.
“Working with Ryan Shawcross in particular is great for me. He helped my game immeasurably last year and I am sure that will be the case again this season.
“Also, through thick and thin, our fans have turned up and supported us. They have been great to me, I know they will continue to be, and we will need them throughout the whole season.”
Stoke are subsequently expected to make Slovakia striker Robert Bozenik their sixth signing of the summer.
The club is believed to have been working on a deal for the 25-year-old forward all through the summer but it has been a complicated process, particularly because of his contract situation at crisis club Boavista.
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