Tottenham defender Ashley Phillips set to join Middlesbrough for initial £7m

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Ashley Phillips is set to join Middlesbrough on a permanent deal.

An agreement has been reached consisting of an initial fee of around £7million, plus up to £13m in potential bonuses and add-ons, according to sources with knowledge of the deal, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.

Personal terms are in place on a five-year deal and Phillips, 22, is scheduled to undergo a medical before completing the move.

The defender would become the second Spurs player to make a permanent switch to Middlesbrough this summer, following striker Will Lankshear, who joined in July.

Phillips joined Spurs from Blackburn in the summer of 2023 for around £3m but is set to depart without making his senior competitive debut for the club, after spending the last two and a half seasons on loan in the Championship.

He joined Plymouth Argyle for the second half of the 2023-24 campaign, winning the club’s young player of the year award, before making 83 appearances across the past two seasons at Stoke City.

Phillips’ Spurs contract had been due to run until 2028.

Spurs signed centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton & Hove Albion in a £52m move this summer, before 19-year-old defender Luka Vuskovic moved in the opposite direction for £46m.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, have had money to spend this summer after selling midfielder Hayden Hackney to Everton in July. The deal could rise to just under £25m ($33.3m) if all clauses, which are based on appearances, England selection and Everton’s qualification for European competition, are met.

The club are also due a significant sell-on fee from Morgan Rogers’ £117m move from Aston Villa to Chelsea, having inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause in the deal that took the attacking midfielder from Teesside to Villa Park in January 2024.

Kim Hellberg’s side missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season after losing the play-off final to Hull City.