This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
With two weeks left in the transfer window, Blackburn Rovers look set to have to fend off transfer interest in one of their young stars.
According to the Daily Mail, Spurs are closing in on the signing of 17-year-old Blackburn Rovers centre-back Ashley Phillips.
Their report states that Tottenham are looking to strike a deal ahead of their other rivals, with the player having reportedly been watched by Chelsea and Manchester United, too.
Tottenham are said to be looking to strike a deal ahead of their rivals once Paratici gives his approval.
With the above links in mind, we asked FLW's Blackburn Rovers fan pundit Toby Wilding for his thoughts on whether or not Ash Phillips was good enough to be a Spurs player.
"I don't think it's a massive surprise that that Tottenham are starting to look at Philips." Toby told FLW.
"And when you sort of consider how good he's been at youth level and how settled he's looked almost immediately upon being given these opportunities in the first team at Blackburn, it shows just how good he has the potential to be.
"So, it certainly makes sense for Tottenham to try and get a deal done for him now before another club beats them to it and it becomes harder for them to secure him up as an asset in the future.
"That being said, it would obviously be a big step up for Philips if it was to make the move now so I do think it would be more one for the future for Tottenham.
"But, definitely if he continues on the trajectory he's going on at this moment in time, I don't think there's any doubt that he could be good enough for Spurs in the years to come.
"Although, with suggestions of contracts talks moving positively with Blackburn, hopefully, this will all be irrelevant sooner rather than later."
The Verdict
At such a young age, the fact that Ashley Phillips is featuring in the first team for Blackburn Rovers suggests he has a big future in the game.
Indeed, our Blackburn fan pundit suggests so, tipping him to be a player capable of playing for a top six club in Spurs in the future.
You do wonder whether a move to Spurs is the right move for the young defender's development at this stage, though.
A season featuring regularly in the Championship could do wonders in that regard, and given he is just 17-years-old, time is certainly on his side.
Although it will obviously be tempting, I'd argue there's no rush to make that big move just yet, and as such, signing a fresh deal with Blackburn Rovers could be the best solution for Phillips moving forwards.