Leaping high, six yards out, to nod in Tommy Conway's cross from the left wing, Will Lankshear notched his ninth goal in 12 games for Middlesbrough. It is that positioning, finishing and poacher's instinct, earning Boro a 1-0 win against Wolves on Saturday, that has made Lankshear an instant hit at Riverside Stadium – and a cause of lament at Tottenham Hotspur. Lankshear joined Boro from Spurs in the summer on a five-year contract in a deal that could rise to a club record buy of £20m.
Since then, he has scored as many goals in all competitions as Spurs' combined team. His old side, despite snatching a draw at Manchester United a few hours after Lankshear's latest winner, remain in the Premier League relegation zone while Boro sit in the Championship's automatic promotion places. Dominic Solanke's last-minute goal at Old Trafford was the first league goal scored by a Tottenham forward in five months.
It is enough to make Spurs fans despair. "A lot of fans are wondering why he was sold," Ali Speechly, co-chair of the Women of the Lane supporters' group, told BBC Sport. "It was likely to do with money - his sell-on price is relatively high, so let's cash in on him.
"I was definitely disappointed. Given how badly we have started this season, as a fan it feels like the wrong decision." Amid a multi-million pound summer splurge, Spurs allowed Lankshear to leave for an initial fee worth about £10m, with an additional £10m due in add-ons based on various clauses. Pre-match, post-match and topical Boro content Subscribe and listen for everything you love about Boro Boro saw off competition around the Championship, and in Europe, to sign the 21-year-old who impressed at Oxford United in the second tier last season, scoring 12 league goals on loan for a relegated side.
Good form for a young player, but not so compelling he had to go straight into the Spurs first team. "If you are a young kid at a club where you are not getting any first-team football and you get the opportunity to go and play men's football, you should go," former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Sport. "The academies are great and Premier League 2 is a great feeder for the first team, but if you are 21, 22 or 23 and still mostly playing in the under-23s then you have missed the boat.
"Getting first-team football is the best grounding you can get for a young footballer, getting the opportunity to play in the first team, regardless of what league it is. Will has been given this opportunity, and he is taking it." Lankshear scored 23 goals for Tottenham's U23 team in the 2023–24 Premier League 2 season and played for the senior side in the 2024-25 Europa League campaign – most notably scoring then getting sent off against Galatasaray. But amid a churn of players and managers at Spurs, he has moved on – and Boro fans couldn't be happier.
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