Steven Schumacher is glad to add Ash Phillips to his squad for the season as he weighs up whether to give the teenager his Stoke City debut tonight.
England under-19s centre-half Phillips, aged 19, has joined on loan from Tottenham after spending the second-half of last term with Plymouth Argyle and pre-season back with his parent club. He was on the bench against West Brom in the Championship on Saturday and is likely to start tonight in a Carabao Cup second round tie at Middlesbrough (7.15pm).
He joins Ben Gibson, Ben Wilmot and Michael Rose as the senior centre-backs in the squad while 17-year-old duo Jaden Dixon, a fellow England youth, and Freddie Anderson have both made their debuts already this season. Gibson and Wilmot have started the three league games so far while Rose is hoping to be back fit by the middle of next month after picking up an ankle injury in pre-season.
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“Ash is a good player,” said Schumacher. “He’ll add something to us. He did really well last year on his loan spell at Plymouth. He’s a real good profile, big, physical, he can run. He’s comfortable on the ball. He’s a good addition to the squad, especially because we’ve got Michael Rose out injured and he still will be for another couple of weeks.
“We’ve had young Jaden in and around the squad who’s 17 and a brilliant player and is going to need time to develop. To strengthen in that area was really important and I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to do it.”
Schumacher insists it has been a difficult decision to weigh up how far and how fast to push Dixon, who could also feature this evening, and Anderson right here and now. But he insists it was important to bolster this department before the transfer deadline passes at 11pm on Friday.
“We’re always mindful of that,” he said. “We can’t block pathways with anyone we think isn’t better than what we’ve got at the moment.
“What Ash has got on Jaden is half-a-season in the Championship, he’s been playing with a Premier League team in Spurs throughout all of the pre-season. They signed him from Blackburn for good money and they’ve got high hopes for him.
“We’re not expecting too much too soon from Jaden but if he’s needed, as he’s shown already, he’s a really good player – and as is Freddie, who has done well for us.
“But we have to make sure we have to get the first team squad as strong as we possibly can.”