Tottenham Hotspur remain confident of signing Blackburn Rovers defender Ashley Phillips despite a hold-up in the deal.
Ashley Phillips could still end up at Tottenham Hotspur this summer despite Blackburn increasing their demands.
That is according to The Athletic, who claim that Tottenham thought they had a deal in place to sign Phillips last week.
They expected Phillips to arrive in a deal worth £3million plus £2million in add-ons.
However, Rovers have now increased their demands to £5million plus another £4.5million in add-ons.
That’s nearly double the initial price and this hike has caused Tottenham’s move for Phillips to stall.
Spurs are allegedly still confident that they can get the deal done though with a compromise now being targeted.
Phillips is wanted by Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United according to 90Min.
That means Tottenham will be desperate to get the teenager signed up before a Premier League rival swoop in and hijack their move.
Blackburn Rovers bid for new defender amid Tottenham’s Ashley Phillips pursuit
Phillips is only 18 but has already made 14 first-team appearances for Blackburn and is very highly rated.
The 6ft 4in defender has been branded ‘phenomenal’ by former Rovers boss Tony Mowbray, and the expectations are that he will become a star.
Tottenham understandably want him as a talent for the future and Blackburn are already moving for a new defender.
The Daily Mail’s Jack Gaughan reports that Rovers have offered a deal worth £750,000 for Union Saint-Gilloise defender Ross Sykes.
The Belgian side want around £1million but he could be leaned to bolster Jon Dahl Tomasson’s defensive options as they potentially lose Phillips.
Sykes is a Burnley-born, former Accrington Stanley player, so a return close to home could really appeal.
Rovers aren’t throwing around cash right now so this bid for Sykes will leave some believing that Phillips is on his way out – and Tottenham will hope to finally get a deal sorted in the coming days.
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