Tottenham Hotspur have signed 18-year-old centre-back Ashley Phillips from Blackburn Rovers.
The highly-rated Englishman has penned a five-year contract with Ange Postecoglou's side until the end of the 2027-28 campaign and follows Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison and Manor Solomon to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs were initially expected to complete the signing of Phillips for around £5m, but Blackburn reportedly upped their asking price to approximately £9.5m in the hope of a bidding war materialising.
However, no other clubs came forward, and Spurs subsequently captured the 2005-born protege for a mere £2m after a release clause in his Rovers deal kicked in.
Phillips had apparently attracted interest from Manchester United and Chelsea thanks to his performances at youth level, and the defender made the step-up to senior football at Ewood Park last season.
The Englishman departs the Championship side having played 14 times for their senior team, including five starts in the second tier and a further two in the 2022-23 EFL Cup.
Phillips, who had been on the books at Blackburn since the age of 12, paid a heartfelt tribute to the club upon his departure, telling rovers.co.uk: "I want to thank the club for everything they've done for me, because without the club I wouldn't be getting this move.
"I've been here since I was 12 years old and from the Academy all the way up to the senior team it's been a great experience and I appreciate everything everyone has done for me.
Welcome to Tottenham Hotspur, Ashley Phillips! 📝 pic.twitter.com/iFq5K2NjiA
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 5, 2023
"All the players and staff behind the scenes have helped me so much both on and off the pitch, and I just want to say thank you for my development so far. I've matured so much at a young age and it really means a lot. Blackburn Rovers will always have a place in my heart and I wish the club all the best going forward."
A former Wales youth international, Phillips has since made six appearances for England at Under-19 level, playing every minute of their six European Championship qualifiers between September and March.
Phillips is a centre-back by trade, but the teenager has also been deployed on the right-hand side of the backline and is expected to be one of at least two additions to Postecoglou's rearguard this summer.
Having completed a deal for the ex-Blackburn man, Tottenham are now expected to finalise the (£43.3m) signing of Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven, who is set to undergo his medical over the weekend.
Spurs - who conceded 63 goals in the 2022-23 Premier League campaign - are also understood to be closing in on the capture of Rosario Central striker Alejo Veliz as Bayern Munich continue to pursue a big-money move for Harry Kane.
Tottenham will host Shakhtar Donetsk in a charity friendly on Sunday before concluding their pre-season preparations against Barcelona in Tuesday's Joan Gamper Trophy clash.
