Middlesbrough are edging closer to a breakthrough in negotiations for Tottenham defender Ashley Phillips.
Standard Sport understands that talks are progressing over an agreement between the two clubs after the deal had previously been described as difficult to negotiate.
LIVE BLOG: All the latest transfer news and rumours
Phillips is the latest Spurs player on Middlesbrough’s radar after they completed the signing of striker Will Lankshear last month for a fee that could rise to a club-record £20million.
The England Under-21 international has significant Championship experience after loan spells at Plymouth Argyle and Stoke City, where he has spent the last two seasons.
With first-team opportunities limited at Spurs following the arrivals of centre-backs Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, Phillips is set to leave the north London club permanently in search of regular minutes.
Spurs hope to pocket a significant profit on the £2m they paid for him in 2022.
Middlesbrough want Phillips, who has over 100 Championship appearances, to help aid their push for promotion to the Premier League after their play-off final defeat to Hull City last season.
The 21-year-old would become the seventh signing of the summer for Kim Hellberg’s side.
Spurs have been keen to maximise player sales this summer and believe that if they cannot offer regular first-team minutes to their academy players, then they will look to negotiate their permanent exits.
Phillips would become the third academy graduate to leave Spurs this summer after Lankshear, Alfie Devine and Tynan Thompson, who joined Manchester United for a fee that could reach up to £8m.
Spurs also negotiated the exit of highly rated centre-half Luka Vuskovic to Brighton for a fee in the region of £46m despite the Croatian having failed to make a senior appearance for the club.
