Tottenham’s Ashley Phillips joins Middlesbrough in permanent deal

Middlesbrough have signed defender Ashley Phillips from Tottenham Hotspur, with the defender signing a five-year contract with the Championship club.

The Athletic reported on August 6 that an agreement had been reached between the two clubs over a deal consisting of an initial £7million fee, plus up to £13m in potential additional bonuses and add-ons.

Phillips is the second Tottenham player to sign for Middlesbrough this summer, after academy graduate Will Lankshear also joined on a five-year deal.

Upon joining Middlesbrough, Phillips told the club’s in-house media: “I’m very excited to be here and can’t wait to be on the pitch. This is an amazing club and it deserves to be in the Premier League.

“I hope to be a good addition to what’s already a fantastic squad, and hopefully we can achieve great things together this season.“

Phillips joined Spurs from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2023 for around £3m but departs 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.

Middlesbrough have made a number of signings from Premier League clubs this summer, with Phillips and Lankshear joining goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who signed permanently from Manchester United, alongside striker Kyle Joseph from Hull City and Jeremy Sarmiento from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Kim Hellberg’s side had money to spend following the departure of Hayden Hackney to Everton, in a deal which could rise to just under £25m if all clauses, which are based on appearances, England selection and Everton’s qualification for European competition, are met.

They are also due a significant sell-on fee from Morgan Rogers’ £117m move to Chelsea, having inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause in the deal which saw the England international join Aston Villa in January 2024.

Middlesbrough were defeated by Hull City in last season’s Championship play-off final after a fifth-placed finish.