EXCLUSIVE: The young forward has a long line of suitors waiting to see what Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi decide to do with the new offers
Sporting, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton have all had approaches to sign Will Lankshear from Tottenham turned down in recent days, football.london understands.
The 21-year-old starred in his first loan spell last season despite Oxford United's relegation from the Championship. Lankshear netted 12 goals for the strugglers which earned him their men's golden boot and Young Player of the Year award. In all he played 47 matches with 16 goal involvements to build on the previous season's breakthrough at Spurs in which he scored in the Europa League and made three Premier League appearances.
Such is the interest from sides in Lankshear that football.london understands the Portuguese giants Sporting and the two Championship clubs made approaches about potential offers in the eight-figure package range that involved either a straight permanent transfer for the forward or a loan move with an obligation to buy, and all of them were turned down by Spurs.
Lankshear has now returned to pre-season work at Hotspur Way, bulked up by the physical demands of the Championship. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi will get his first glance at him on the training pitches this week and a decision may be made on what comes next for him before the club's summer tour, which the squad will fly off on later next week to New Zealand and Australia.
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The Italian is expected to want to bring in a new senior forward this summer, with Richarlison's future in question as he enters the final year of his contract, and what happens in that department of the squad could have a knock-on effect for Lankshear, without the extra European games and minutes on offer in the coming season.
Lankshear's future could then in turn have its own knock-on effect on what happens with 18-year-old striker Mason Melia and whether the Republic of Ireland international gets his own loan or remains with De Zerbi and the squad for at least the first half of the coming season.