Jamie O’Hara has said that Tottenham Hotspur only have themselves to blame for their issues up front, given the poor decision to sell Will Lankshear.
We are now over a quarter of the way into the Premier League season, and Tottenham’s strikers simply have not delivered.
Omar Marmoush and Dominic Solanke have scored just two league goals between them so far, with the Lilywhites having failed to find the back of the net in half of their 10 matches so far.
It has been particularly painful for Spurs fans watching Will Lankshear dominate the Championship since his move to Middlesbrough, with the Tottenham academy graduate having scored 15 goals already.
One pundit believes that the decision to sell Lankshear is already looking like an extremely poor one from the North London club.
Jamie O’Hara says Tottenham have had a ‘nightmare’ letting Will Lankshear go
Despite the feeling of regret among Spurs fans, De Zerbi previously insisted that he has no regrets about letting the 21-year-old striker leave.
Speaking back in September, the Italian said: “No, I think no [regrets]. Solanke is a good player, Marmoush is another good player, and then there was the Richarlison situation, which changed in the last five days without my decision.
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“Three strikers, how many strikers do you want in the squad? Three strikers, I think, are enough. To answer about the player in Middlesbrough, no.”
However, O’Hara sharply disagrees with the Tottenham boss, with the pundit admitting that he does not see which player is going to get 15 goals for the club this season.
The former Spurs midfielder believes that the decision to sell Lankshear is going to prove incredibly costly for De Zerbi’s men.
O’Hara has now told Sky Sports (via Football.London): “We’ve got a problem up front – that’s my concern. We’ve got a massive problem up front. [Dominic] Solanke’s not doing it, Richarlison is not even registered, sold Will Lankshear, and now I’m starting to look at it and think, ‘well unless we score from a set-piece or a moment of brilliance, where are the goals coming from?’
“Who’s getting us 15 goals? They sold Will Lankshear and that for me is looking like a bit of a nightmare scenario. He’s gone to Middlesbrough and is banging in the goals and performing really well. I think, at the moment, he looks like a player that could have really done a job for us, even if it was just someone who could come off the bench.
“He looks like a handful, has good feet, knows where the goal is, makes good runs. And I know he was highly thought of at Spurs, so I’m really surprised they did get rid of him.”
When asked whether Lankshear would start for Tottenham side, O’Hara said: “It’s a good question [would he be starting at Spurs?]. I think if he was playing like he has been for Middlesbrough – and I know it’s the Championship – but I think he probably would start. Solanke is nowhere near good enough at the moment; he needs to be way better. Whereas Will Lankshear looks like a player we’ve let go and might be one we might regret.
“I know there’s a need to balance the books and selling youngsters gets you 100 per cent profit and all that kind of stuff. That’s ridiculous if you ask me – to have to do that to stay within FFP rules. But Will Lankshear, for me, looks like a player that we should never have let go…”
Spurs fans should not be getting carried away with Lankshear’s form
We have seen countless times players who are prolific at Championship level, but not able to translate their goalscoring prowess to the Premier League.
While one can argue that Lankshear is still young and probably not at the peak of his powers yet, there is no real guarantee that he is going to evolve into a top-class striker.
For years, Spurs fans have rued the fact that the club let Marcus Edwards leave, with many considering him one of the best talents to emerge from the Hotspur Way academy. However, he has struggled to make a mark in English football since his move to Burnley.
The same Tottenham fans who are now criticising the club for selling Lankshear may well have been critical of the striker had he stayed and been starting matches this season.