There’s a lot of transfer rumor nonsense flying around out there right now, so how about some real reporting? Scott Wilson, Chief Football Reporter at the Northern Echo, writes today that the deal to sell young Tottenham central defender Ashley Phillips to Middlesbrough is currently “on pause” after some aspects of the deal were yet to be completed.
The Phillips sale was reportedly for a transfer fee of £7m up front, and with the addition of performance and appearance-based add-ons that if all met could cause the fee to rise as high as £20m. However, Wilson is reporting that despite earlier reporting that the clubs had come to a full agreement, some parts of the deal had yet to be finalized. I don’t honestly know what the hold-up is and the article doesn’t say, but if I had to guess I’d say the sticky wicket are some of the add-ons. Phillips had, according to Wilson, already visited Boro’s training center and was hoping to nail down the agreement and complete a medical this weekend, but now it looks like the clubs will go back to the negotiating table to hash out whatever the disagreements are.
And regarding the source — my experience has long led me to believe that the regional English newspapers are where a lot of the goods are, especially regarding smaller clubs or teams down the table. Wilson has a good pedigree, and the Northern Echo is solid for clubs in Yorkshire, Tyne-Wear, and the surrounding areas. This is probably about as solid a source for Boro as you can find.
And this is also probably fine. The deal is not OFF-off, but it sounds like someone involved would like to continue negotiating some aspects of the agreement, and that makes me think they’re talking over either some clauses or the overall payment structure. Boro would be a good landing spot for Phillips, whom Spurs bought from Blackburn Rovers in 2023 for £2m, and who has yet to make an official appearance for Spurs. He’s spent his time out on loan — two seasons at Stoke City and a half season at Plymouth Argyle — and has carved out a reputation as a solid young central defender at the Championship level. He’d be a good addition to Boro or any number of Championship clubs, and Spurs are set to make a healthy profit on him no matter what.
My guess is that talks will eventually continue and the final agreement will result in a transfer fee that’s slightly less lucrative than what was first described. Boro’s all-time transfer fee record is £15m for Britt Assombalonga in 2017, though you can argue the fee this summer for Will Lankshear could eventually eclipse that (£14m + unknown escalators), and the Phillips sale would DEFINITELY eclipse that if all conditions are met. Those figures aren’t much for a club like Tottenham, but they’re very significant for Boro, who clearly have promotion ambitions next season after being eliminated by Hull City in the playoff finals last season.
So probably not anything to stress out over, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Spurs end up not getting quite as good a deal as what they initially thought. I still expect Phillips to join BIG WILLY LANKS at Boro this summer.