Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough are keen to strike a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for 19-year-old striker Will Lankshear, as per London World.
Lankshear came through Sheffield United’s youth system but he did not make a first-team appearance for the Blades before moving to Spurs in the summer of 2022 for an initial fee of just over £1 million.
The Englishman began his first season in North London playing for Spurs’ under-18 team, scoring a brace on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers and his first hat trick two months later against West Ham United.
Lankshear was promoted to the under-21 squad at the end of the 2022/23 season. However, the centre forward was unable to get on the scoresheet after a handful of brief cameos.
Last season, the attacker was trusted to lead the line for Spurs under-21s and he more than delivered. He scored 23 goals in 23 games across the regular Premier League 2 season and the play-offs, including a brace in the final as Tottenham’s under-21 side won the competition.
Additonally, Spurs’ number 62 has made five appearances for England at under-19 level, scoring three goals in the process.
Lankshear has also got a small amount of experience playing men’s football in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, where he has two goals in four appearances against sides from England’s third and fourth tier.
After a strong 2022/23 campaign, Middlesbrough faltered slightly last season and only managed an eighth-place finish, missing out on the play-offs by four points.
Writer’s View
Tottenham have had a couple of highly-rated strikers come through their academy in the past few seasons, namely Dane Scarlett and Troy Parrot, both of whom had their chances at Spurs scuppered by unimpressive first loan spells in senior football. It is vital that Lankshear picks a club that will suit his style and give him opportunities, especially if he is considering moving permanently.
Michael Carrick has worked with a number of young players at Middlesbrough and has a proven record of coaching goalscoring strikers in Chuba Akpom and Emmanuel Latte Lath, though it will be interesting to see if Lankshear gets into the Boro team over the latter.