Tottenham’s woes in front of goal this season means our seller’s remorse has been felt all the more keenly.
Plenty have suggested that in giving up Will Lankshear, Spurs ditched the second-coming of Harry Kane. Even our record goalscorer, though, didn’t take to life in the Championship quite like Lankshear, who currently leads the division’s scoring charts.
The young forward’s opportunities were scarce in North London, and although he found the back of the net in a 3-2 defeat at Galatasaray during our successful Europa League campaign, few sensed that Lankshear was ready to take the next step in his Lilywhite career.
He enjoyed a decent enough loan at Oxford United in the second tier last season, and, in an ideal world, would’ve had another temporary spell before returning to N17. But Spurs received an offer from Middlesbrough they couldn’t refuse, one that could be worth as much as £20m.
Given what Lankshear had produced and the few opportunities that were likely to be presented to him under Roberto De Zerbi, it was completely understandable as to why Spurs bit the bullet.
Captain Hindsight would suggest that the club was too hasty to part ways, with Lankshear firing on all cylinders in the Championship and propelling Boro back into the top flight.
Lankshear has 13 league goals in as many games for the joint-league leaders. He’s seemingly always in the right place at the right time.
His early-season form has raised the question of whether an England call-up is on the horizon, given the dearth of English talent at the centre-forward position. Lankshear made his debut for the U21s in September, but will miss the upcoming international slate due to a minor injury.
The striker’s outstanding start to the season comes at a time when scoring goals has appeared a mightily tough art for De Zerbi’s Tottenham to master. With Richarlison ostracised, De Zerbi has so far relied on Dominic Solanke, who continues to look like a shell of his once-serviceable self, and Omar Marmoush, who looks technically refined and can kick a ball really hard, but has struggled to settle.
It’s the lack of a clinical touch that will limit what this Spurs team can achieve this season. They will drop points in games they have no business in doing so, as a result, but when things do “click” in front of goal, will be capable of upsetting the league’s best.
The Lankshear that’s manifested for Boro is seemingly everything we’re missing, and although Spurs have ‘matching rights’ in any potential future sale, the striker’s value is merely skyrocketing. We sold him for an initial £10m in the summer, and Football Insider reports that Boro value the 21-year-old at £30m amid interest from Newcastle United.
At least we’ve got a 20% sell-on clause!