Plymouth Argyle sign Ash Phillips from Tottenham | OneFootball

Highlights

Plymouth have announced the signing of Tottenham Hotspur defender Ashley Phillips on a loan deal until the end of the season as the incoming star becomes Ian Foster's first signing of the transfer window.

Argyle currently sit 18th in the Championship table, seven points clear of the relegation spots with 20 games to go as they look to make a survival attempt in their first season in the second-tier since 2009-10.

The club have been hit by loan recalls and a manager exit in recent weeks, but the signing of Phillips so early on in the window offers fans hopes that their recent poor form will turn for the good once again.

It's been a testing winter so far for Plymouth Argyle. Not only have Finn Azaz and Luke Cundle's loans ended with the duo headed to Middlesbrough and Stoke respectively, but manager Steven Schumacher also departed where he has taken Cundle with him, with the former Pilgrims boss moving closer to his native Liverpool by joining the Potters shortly before Christmas.

Ian Foster has come in to replace the former Bury man, and he won his first game in charge of the club in the FA Cup by squeezing past Sutton United in a 3-1 win at Home Park.

But with no win in their last four games in the league against Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and Watford - where you would expect a home win for the Devonshire club as they boast one of the better home records in the league - Foster has it all to do.

Notably, he’s a former member of the England setup, coaching the under-17’s all the way up to under-20 level - which means he will be all too familiar with how Phillips plays, and it will be interesting to see if he flexes his St George’s Park muscles to make further additions to the setup at Plymouth in any case.

Ashley Phillips' career so far

Manchester-born Phillips joined Blackburn’s youth academy in 2017 after leaving local non-league side Curzon Ashton, and he rapidly rose through the ranks at Ewood Park from there. Only making eight appearances for the Lancashire side throughout his career, Phillips was more notably known for his appearances for England’s youth sides, where he has made 24 appearances for the Three Lions’ youth setup all the way from under-17 level through to under-19 - which is where Tottenham made a move at a fee of just £2million.

But with Plymouth calling for his services, this will likely be the youngster’s best chance of securing first-team football in the second-tier for the first time, and if he impresses in the south-west, it could well set him up for a season-long loan next time out as a key starter.

The Plymouth players offering Ashley Phillips competition

Current centre-halves at Home Park include summer signing Julio Pleguezuelo, Lewis Gibson, Macaulay Gillesphey and Dan Scarr.

It’s Gibson who leads the stats in terms of games started with 24, whilst Scarr, Pleguezuelo and Gillesphey follow with 22, 21 and 4 respectively.

Schumacher preferably went with a 4-3-3 formation in his spell on the coast but regularly switched to a three-back for the more attacking sides, but Foster kept that mantra with a 4-3-3 system against Sutton. And, if he sticks to those tactics, it means Phillips will have to compete with the aforementioned defenders for a first-team place.