Spurs have made plenty of headway at this stage of the January transfer window. Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner have already made their debuts since signing from Genoa and RB Leipzig respectively.
But Postecoglou is not done there. With just over two weeks left to bolster what’s currently a threadbare squad, various reports indicate that the club are pressing ahead in pursuit of a defensive midfielder.
According to the Northern Echo, senior figures at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are ‘championing’ a move for Phillips, and Spurs signalled their interest to Man City over the weekend.
The 28-year-old has not started a single Premier League game all season and needs regular game time to make a push for England’s Euro 2024 squad. Newcastle are the subject of long-running links to Phillips but their sticky financial situation is set to prevent a move unfolding this winter.
City are demanding £7million to take the midfielder on loan, as well as an obligation to buy at the end of the season. The Sky Blues paid Leeds United £45m 18 months ago and hope to break even on the player, despite his lack of football.
Tottenham’s midfielder chase had previously seen them linked with Chelsea star Conor Gallagher. But prising the stand-in Blues captain away from Stamford Bridge midway through the season may prove to be an impossible task.
Spurs have almost two weeks before they return to competitive action, and they could have made their final signing of the window by the time they host Man City in the FA Cup on January 26.
