Spurs loan watch: New manager for Tottenham youngster

This morning it was confirmed that Ashley Phillips' manager at Stoke City, Steven Schumacher, has been relieved of his duties and the club are already on the lookout for a new manager.

Schumacher was appointed by Stoke midway through last season, as a result of his excellent work at Plymouth Argyle, where he achieved promotion and ad stabilised them in the Championship, but sporting director and club legend Jon Walters has made the decision to sack Schumacher this morning on the 16th of September.

Schumacher is known for his developing of young players, and this sacking has come as a surprise to many, with several fans not happy about the decision, so it does feel like a bit of a shame for Phillips.

New manager pending for Ashley Phillips at Stoke City

Whilst the young defender was an unused substitute for the nail in Schumacher's coffin on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to Oxford United, he had been trusted to start two games in four days previously and you would have been confident of him developing under Schumacher's stewardship.

It is not ideal for stability to have different managers in the same season, particularly after just five league games. In addition, the new manager, who would not have been part of any process in bringing Phillips to the club, might not particularly fancy him and game time may be harder to come by. Of course, there is every chance he does rate the teenager, but it is a risk that he could have done without.

John Percy of The Telegraph has reported that an early frontrunner is Norwich City's first-team coach Narcis Pelach. It will be worth keeping an eye on whoever they appoint, and hopefully, it is a coach that will regularly play Phillips and be able to optimise his talent.

Stoke City have a home game against Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup tomorrow night, where Alex Morris and Ryan Shawcross will take charge of the team. Hopefully, it will be an opportunity for Phillips to get another start under his belt, having been impressed in the previous round against Middlesbrough.