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Tottenham Hotspur hold a sell-on clause and matching rights on Ashley Phillips, who has completed a move to Middlesbrough, according to journalist Sam Tabuteau.
Spurs picked up Phillips from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2023 and paid a £2m transfer fee for the highly rated defender.
The centre-back went out in three loan spells, the latest of which came with Stoke City last season, where he featured regularly for them and started 34 out of 40 league outings.
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However, Phillips has failed to really push to trouble the first team at Tottenham and was well down Roberto De Zerbi’s options.
It was suggested last month that Tottenham were looking to offload the player, but a permanent move would be dependent on the player’s willingness to make it happen.
Championship outfit Middlesbrough showed interest in the defender to take him to Riverside and managed to agree a deal with Spurs.
Phillips has joined Middlesbrough and the Championship outfit are paying a hefty transfer fee to Spurs, which will see them receive £7m up front with £13m in add-ons.
| Manager | Time at Club |
|---|---|
| Roberto De Zerbi | March 2026 – present |
| Igor Tudor | February 2026 – March 2026 |
| Thomas Frank | June 2025 – February 2026 |
| Ange Postecoglou | July 2023 – June 2025 |
| Antonio Conte | November 2021 – March 2023 |
The north London giants have also agreed to a sell-on clause which will see them earn 20 per cent from his future sale and has reserved the rights to match any future offer from Phillips’ suitors.
The 21-year-old defender has already made over 100 appearances in the Championship and he will look to prove himself for Middlesbrough.
Phillips leave Spurs without making his first team debut for them, but the clauses in his deal might give him an opportunity to return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the future if he performs well.
Early in the window Tottenham brought in Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi to strengthen their centre-back options.
They also sanctioned a departure of highly rated Croatian defender Luka Vuskovic, who had brilliant loan spell with Hamburg last season, for whom Brighton paid them £46m with £4m in add-ons.
Cristian Romero has also just left Tottenham to complete a move to Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
