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Stoke City boss Narcis Pelech is of the view that Tottenham Hotspur loan star Ashley Phillips is a good centre-back and thinks that has the potential to be very good in the future.
Tottenham signed the 19-year-old centre-back from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2023 and he is very highly rated by Spurs’ coaching staff.
Phillips joined Stoke on a season-long loan this summer but has yet to nail down his spot in the starting line-up.
On Tuesday, the Spurs youngster started for the Potters against Southampton in the Potters’ EFL Cup fourth round game and scored a goal in their 3-2 defeat.
Pelech admitted that Phillips’ performance against Premier League side Southampton impressed him and the Stoke boss thinks that the Tottenham loanee should continue his development path.
The Stoke manager admitted that the 19-year-old is a good centre-back and believes that Phillips has in him what it takes to be a very good player in the future.
“He had [goalscoring] chances against Sheffield United the other day”, Pelech said in his post match press conference.
“I’m impressed with his performance today and the other day.
“He needs to continue in this direction because I think he’s a good centre-back, can be very good in the future.”
The Tottenham loanee has now started back-to-back games for Stoke and he will be eager to keep hold of his place in the starting line-up for the upcoming games.