Sheffield United are believed to be ready to put forward a bid worth £6 Million for Tottenham defender Ashley Phillips, who is believed to be high on The Blades’ list of transfer targets this summer, reports Alan Nixon.
The Blades are believed to have had a long-standing interest in Phillips, who is rated highly at Bramall Lane both through old-fashioned scouting and their new AI systems, and are ready to go out and buy him, but Ruben Selles’ side have been pushed back by the arrival of Thomas Frank in London, who reportedly wants to keep him at Spurs for an inclusion in the squad this season.
What Might Phillips Bring To Blades’ Back Line?
Phillips is young, and with that brings some fresh pedigree for Ruben Selles to work with and develop. His statistics aren’t promising as such, but certain aspects of his game can be picked out through looking at his charts via FotMob and there are qualities which could give Sheffield United a real boost if they were to complete the deal…
The 20-year-old defender is an absolute beast, at 6 foot 3 inches, he can win plenty of arial battles which may benefit The Blades as they look to build a defensive wall and a firm foundation to hopefully push on at promotion.
With this arial ability, it could boost Sheffield United with their set-piece work in both boxes, with Selles possibly able to get the best out of the Spurs Defender.
Passing success rates run high as well for Phillips, who, last season with Stoke, managed to complete 84.2% of passes.
Now, we’re not sure how new man Selles will want to set up Sheffield United yet, but having a defender who can do both the basic defensive work but also play the ball at good quality could make the English Defender a fantastic addition.
What Experience Does Ashley Phillips Have?
Over the last couple of seasons, Phillips has also enjoyed plenty of Championship experience, with loans at Blackburn, Plymouth and most recently Stoke giving the 20-year-old a good knowledge of the division already.
Having that feeling of the Championship already could allow the Englishman to really settle down if he was to complete a move to The Blades, as he will have quite the knowledge to help Sheffield United possess a water-tight defence as they try and bounce back into the Premier League.
However, would a move to a promotion-chasing team be the right one at this stage? Probably. Selles is known for getting a lot out of defenders, which can be noted by the terrific performances of Tyler Bindon alongside The New Blades Boss at Reading.
Phillips would get plenty of chances at Bramall Lane, and it could really allow him to develop into a quality defender.
What do you think, though? Let us know in the comments below.
