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There is one rather obvious priority for Tottenham in the transfer market once it reopens for business at the turn of the year. Despite the Premier League summer window drawing to a close just over a week ago, last Monday evening saw Tottenham part with Davinson Sanchez as Ange Postecoglou gave the Colombian the green light to join Galatasaray.
Already needing to bring in a new centre-back prior to the 27-year-old's exit, the ex-Ajax man's departure does leave Tottenham rather short at the back. Whereas Sanchez would provide cover for Cristian Romero if the World Cup winner was ever absent, that job now looks like it will fall on 18-year-old Ashley Phillips.
On the left, Ben Davies will replace Micky van de Ven if the Dutchman is not available to play. Sanchez's transfer does looks set to hand Eric Dier a Tottenham reprieve for the time being at least, with the England international's place in Postecoglou's plans likely to become much clearer over the next few weeks after previously missing out on the matchday squad in their first five games of the season.
It is clear to see that Spurs do need defensive reinforcements come January but they do have a couple of youngsters already at the club who can save the Lilywhites millions in the future, with Luka Vuskovic now set to add to Tottenham's talented starlets in 2025 after he turns 18 as a deal is almost done with Hajduk Split. The first of those is Phillips, who joined in a £2million move from Blackburn Rovers at the beginning of August.
Only making his senior bow for Rovers one year ago, the Salford-born centre-back went on to make 14 appearances for the Championship side in his debut campaign. Standing at 6ft 4in and already boasting the qualities to make him a huge hit in Postecoglou's backline due to his ability on the ball, Phillips has quite clearly already caught the eye of the Spurs head coach at Hotspur Way and that's why he was on the bench for the 5-2 win at Burnley.
It could be the first of many appearances in the Tottenham matchday squad for Phillips, who will now be eagerly waiting to make his Tottenham debut in the not too distant future. Hailed as "phenomenal" at 16 years of age by former Rovers boss Tony Mowbray, Phillips has been tipped to have some future in the game and the £2m Tottenham paid out for his services could prove to be an absolute snip.
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Fresh from his first appearance in the Tottenham squad, Phillips' memorable week went from strength to strength after scoring his first international goal for England under-19s on Saturday as they beat Switzerland 4-2. Starting in that game was fellow Tottenham youngster Alfie Dorrington, who is another player who could save the club a lot of money in the transfer market in the years ahead.
As Tottenham are now one short in defence following Sanchez's exit, Dorrington could be the youngster set to benefit with potential opportunities there for him on the training pitch under Postecoglou. If that indeed proves to be the case, it is a golden opportunity for the 18-year-old to make his make and demonstrate to the head coach that he has a part to play in his Spurs masterplan.
Dorrington is another who is very good on the ball, which was evident to see in Jamie Donley's goal in the U18 Premier League Cup final at Aston Villa as he ran out from the back and it culminated in his teammate firing home. Playing a key part in both the under-17s and under-18s' cup success last year, the big centre-back made 34 appearances across the age groups in 2022/23 and this season he has started in all four of Tottenham's Premier League 2 matches.
Spurs do have some very talented prospects in the academy on their hands, with Dorrington certainly one of them. Regardless of Tottenham's transfer dealings in January as they look to bring in a defender, they have two players currently at the club in Phillips and Dorrington who can more than play their part in the future if they continue to progress at their current rate.
