Oxford Mail

Spurs are currently fighting for their lives in the Premier League and have a large injury list including forward players such as Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, and Dominic Solanke.

Currently in the relegation zone with the threat of Championship football next season a real possibility, fans of the London club have called for the early return of some of their players who are currently out on loan.

One of these names is The U's Will Lankshear who was named Men's Young Player of the Year and Men's Golden Boot winner at Oxford's awards evening on Sunday.

With 12 goals in all competitions for a struggling Yellows outfit, some Spurs have called for Lankshear to be recalled from OX4 now that their fate this campaign is decided - Matt Bloomfield's men were relegated to League One last weekend.

The Premier League confirmed to football.london that players cannot return and play for their parent clubs before the season ends.

Football.london stated: "Premier League loan players are essentially de-registered from the parent club and re-registered elsewhere and that cannot change back until the next registration period opens, which in this case would be the summer transfer window.

"The guidance is that other than the early recall of a goalkeeper in exceptional circumstances, no other player on a long-term loan - full or half season - will be permitted to return to their parent club outside of a transfer window and play first team football.

"So if a loan recall happens outside a window, the player may train but not be eligible for matches until the next registration period unless special exceptions exist."

Xavi said he was “heartbroken” in a social media post on Sunday night and Spurs have now said the midfielder will undergo surgery after being injured in the 1-0 Premier League win at Wolves.

“We can confirm that Xavi Simons has ruptured the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee,” Tottenham said on their official X account.

“The 23-year-old suffered the injury during the second half of our Premier League fixture at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

“Xavi will undergo surgery in the coming weeks and, following that, will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.

“Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur sends Xavi our love and support – we will be with him every step of the way.”

The Netherlands playmaker went down clutching his right knee in the 58th against Wolves, where Spurs claimed a league win for the first time in 2026.

After falling to the floor following a collision with Wolves defender Hugo Bueno, Xavi attempted to run off the injury but collapsed in front of Tottenham’s medical staff and subsequently left Molineux on a stretcher.

In an Instagram post, Xavi revealed he would not be fit enough to take part in Tottenham’s final four league matches or represent the Netherlands at the World Cup this summer.

“They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way. My season has come to an abrupt end and I’m just trying to process it,” the former Paris St Germain player said.

“Honestly, I’m heartbroken. None of it makes sense.

“All I’ve wanted to do is fight for my team and now the ability to do that has been snatched away from me, along with the World Cup.”

https://x.com/OnsOranje/status/2048644780624678949

The absence of the £52million attacker is a significant blow to Tottenham and Roberto De Zerbi, who has already lost captain Cristian Romero and winger Mohammed Kudus to season-ending injuries during his first month at the club.

Xavi had endured a frustrating debut campaign in England, only showing flashes of his class under Thomas Frank before being bizarrely frozen out by Igor Tudor, but looked set for a key role with De Zerbi, especially after a wonder strike in a 2-2 home draw with Brighton.

Instead, Xavi can play no part in Spurs’ desperate efforts to overturn a two-point deficit to 17th-placed West Ham in order to avoid their first relegation in 49 years.

Xavi added: “It’ll take some time to find peace with this but I’ll continue to be the best team-mate I can be. I have no doubt that together we’ll win this fight.

“I’ll walk this path now, guided by faith, with strength, with resilience, with belief as I count down the days to getting back out there. Be patient with me.”

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Spurs will reportedly scrap plans to send the striker back out on loan next season should they be relegated from the Premier League.

The 20-year-old is set to be given a chance to impress new boss Roberto De Zerbi, according to SportsBoom, if worst comes to worst for the North London club, with Lankshear becoming a fan favourite and standout star for the relegation-battling U's.

Lankshear has bagged 10 goals and three assists in a season of struggle for the Yellows and has played 43 times in a breakout season for the youngster who is on loan until the end of the season.

It was recently reported that the centre forward turned down moves to higher-placed Championship sides in January in order to see out the fight for survival in OX4, further endearing himself to the U's faithful.

Lankshear's parent club Spurs are currently fighting for their lives in the Premier League, sitting 17th and one point above the bottom three.

Staff at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium are apparently convinced that the England Under-20 international has both the experience and pedigree to stake a claim for a regular first-team role.

The Lilywhites recently appointed former Brighton and Marseille boss De Zerbi on a five-year contract, replacing Igor Tudor in an effort to stave of relegation, with the Italian seemingly trusted to steady the ship if the club does go down.

Donley spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Stoke City but has struggled for game time and was recalled by his parent club on New Year's Day.

The 20-year-old appeared just four times for the Potters, managing one assist.

Football League World have reported that the Northern Ireland international is set to sign for Oxford for the rest of the season with the final details of a deal being ironed out before signing in the coming days.

The Telegraph's chief football correspondent Jason Burt has also said that the move will happen.

The U's currently sit 23rd in the Championship table, three points from safety, and are in need of refreshment in the squad if they are to survive relegation.

A product of Spurs' academy, Donley would link up with fellow Tottenham player Will Lankshear at United, potentially igniting some chemistry which will help a struggling Oxford attack unlock defences and create more chances.

The versatile midfielder enjoyed a successful season on loan at Leyton Orient in League One in the previous campaign, managing eight goals and 10 assists in his first loan spell away from North London.

Donley would be the third player to join the U's on loan from Spurs in two seasons after Lankshear and Dane Scarlett.

Han Willhoft-King was coached under the likes of Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte, but chose to leave the sports life behind for education.

The 19-year-old had been with Tottenham Hotspur since the age of six after he had been seen playing grassroots football for TFA.

Coached by City legend Yaya Toure, Willhoft-King rose through the ranks at Spurs and even took part in first-team training sessions under Conte.

The midfielder was also capped twice by England at under-16 level back in 2021 before he moved to the under-21s at the Etihad Stadium in 2024.

Injuries caused problems for the teenager, making him endure a four-month lay-off stretch last campaign at City.

Willhoft-King is now studying a law degree at Brasenose College and has explained the reasoning behind the switch to The Guardian.

"I wasn’t enjoying it," he said. "I don’t know what it was, maybe the environment. I’m bored often, as well.

"You’d train, you’d come home, and you wouldn’t really do anything. If you contrast it to now, I’m struggling to find hours in the day.

"I’m either studying, going out with friends, playing for the university first team, also my college."

Former Norwich City, Leeds United and Birmingham City footballer Tom Adeyemi is another player who moved into academia from the professional game, studying an MBA at Harvard Business School.

Willhoft-King added: "I always felt under-stimulated in football. Don’t get me wrong. I still loved it. But I always felt I could be doing more. I was wasting hours of the day.

"I needed something different, and Oxford excited me; the people, too. I guess that’s the reason.

"Injuries were a big factor, but that’s the easy answer. I felt I needed something a bit more, mainly intellectually, which sounds quite pretentious."

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The 19-year-old chose to apply to several universities at the beginning of last season, and Oxford was one of his picks.

He said: "Also, best-case scenario, you’ll play for 10, 15 years and after that, what? I thought going to university would provide a platform for me to do something at least for longer than the next 10 to 15 years. So, it’s a bit of a long-term thing, as well."

Then, in January, Willhoft-King was offered a place at the school following an interview.

This came after the young footballer completed his A-levels earlier this year, achieving stellar grades across the board.

The former Spurs and City starlet earned grades of A*, A*, A in maths, economics and history to help get him to Oxford.

The 20-year-old made his Spurs first team debut in October, and scored on his second appearance for the club, away against Galatasaray in a Europa League clash.

Lankshear was also sent off after being booked twice in that game, and in total has played six times across all competitions for Spurs.

The striker then joined West Bromwich Albion on loan at the end of January. He played 11 times in Sky Bet Championship for the Baggies, but seven of those games came from the bench.

READ ALSO: U’s linked with moves for exciting Liverpool youngsters

Lankshear, who goes into the U’s squad ahead of the Championship opener at home against Portsmouth on Saturday, told the United club website: “This is a really exciting opportunity for me to be joining a great club.

“I learned so much last season in the first team at Tottenham and West Brom and I’m ready to now kick on with Oxford United.

“I’ve had some really good conversations with the manager, and I feel like this is the right place for me to be.

“I love nothing more than scoring goals. I want to do my best to bring as many as I can this season.

“My game is about more than just goals though. I’m a player that has taken all the information from the top professionals I’ve worked with and I’m now ready to bring it together, work hard for the team and deliver for the club.”

U’s head coach Gary Rowett added: “Will is an athletic, strong, quick goalscorer and someone who we feel can make an immediate impact.

“He has an outstanding record at youth level with club and country. He knows the way to goal, and we hope he can add those qualities to our team.

“With Nik Prelec and Will added to the squad in recent days, we are really pleased with the work that has been done to strengthen the forward line for the new season.”

United head of football operations Ed Waldron said: “Throughout the summer, we have worked tirelessly as a recruitment department to identify the right strikers for this team.

“It was always our intention to bring two quality forwards to the club, and we are delighted to have followed Nik Prelec with this loan deal for Will.

“He is one of the most exciting young forwards in the country. To bring in someone of his talent and ability is fantastic for the club and we hope he can be an important player for us this season.”

The 21-year-old striker spent the first half of the season on loan at United, where he netted four times in 20 Sky Bet Championship appearances, and was recalled by Spurs on January 20.

Upon returning to the Premier League side, Scarlett scored his first Spurs goal on January 30 as his header sparked a 3-0 victory in the Europa League group stage at home against Elfsborg, ensuring progress to the last 16 of the competition.

Scarlett has made a further four appearances for Spurs, all from the bench, including one in the Europa League.

READ ALSO: Midfielder hoping to unearth next Oxford gem with education academy

The striker was an unused substitute as Spurs beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final in Bilbao last night.

A goal from Brennan Johnson three minutes before half-time proved to be the difference between the sides, who have both struggled domestically this season. The Red Devils are 16th in the Premier League, with Spurs a place further back with just one game to go.

Spurs though ended a 17-year wait for a trophy, having previously won the Carling Cup in 2008, and follow in the footsteps of the club’s UEFA Cup winners of 1972 and 1984, while also qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

The 20-year-old striker was recalled from his loan spell at Oxford United on January 20, having scored four goals in 22 appearances across all competitions.

Just seven of his games were starts in Sky Bet Championship, while Scarlett featured in only three league games out of a possible six after Rowett was appointed U’s head coach.

READ ALSO: How to get unlimited access to all your U’s news

Scarlett has since netted his first goal for Spurs, in a Europa League win at home against Elfsborg, and was a substitute for Richarlison in a Premier League victory at Brentford earlier this month.

Having featured for Spurs, it meant Scarlett could only play for either Ange Postecoglou’s side or United between now and the end of the season.

Asked if there was a chance of Scarlett returning to the U’s following his recall, Rowett responded: “Decisions were made by other clubs. Decisions were made by us. You roll with that.

“At that point, we would’ve had potentially four or five players who can play as a number nine.

“Is there such a huge difference between all of those players in terms of one being so much better than the other? I’m not so sure.

“You can always look back when you pick an injury up and say what if, but ultimately you have to make those decisions, and also you would’ve ended up with two or three players, good players, out of the squad every week, and I don’t think that’s fair.

“It is what it is, and we’ll make do with what we’ve got.”