The local West Bromwich Albion media have been full of praise for Tottenham Hotspur loanee Will Lankshear after only his second league start in the game against Watford.
Life away from Tottenham Hotspur hasn’t exactly gone to plan for Will Lankshear. Since making his debut against Millwall, the youngster has spent most of his time warming the bench, with opportunities to start proving hard to come by.
That changed during West Bromwich Albion’s most recent outing, where the Spurs academy gem was handed his first start in nine appearances.
Following his 74-minute display against Watford, West Bromwich Albion fans were full of praise for Lankshear, and the local media labelled his performance as “top”.
Will Lankshear earns praise after West Brom performance
The verdict from The Express and Star was emphatic for the Tottenham man: “Will Lankshear was put in from the off after Tony Mowbray basically said he was going to do so on Friday, and he didn’t disappoint with his display.
“Everything he has shown in his cameos he showed and more in his display from the start. He was strong, held the ball up so well, a real target man display. But his link-up, his running and his work rate were top-drawer. He didn’t look out of place. The only thing it lacked was a goal, and it wasn’t down to a lack of opportunities.
“Lankshear had three big chances that he will be ruing on Saturday evening. It just didn’t fall for him, and it would have been the icing on the cake of a top, top performance, but it didn’t happen. Goals will come and judging by that display, we will see more of the Spurs loanee.
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“To be honest we would have seen a lot more of him if Adam Armstrong hadn’t come in on deadline day, but that is by the by now. Impressive stuff from the youngster.”
Will Lankshear backed to follow Harry Kane path at Tottenham
That 74-minute runout was Will Lankshear’s longest spell on the pitch since sealing his loan move away from Tottenham Hotspur.
And despite his struggles for game time, former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe remains firmly in his corner. Defoe believes Lankshear has what it takes to make a big impact at Spurs, even tipping him to be the club’s next Harry Kane.
“Will Lankshear is good too,” Defoe said. “He is a throwback number nine, a proper centre forward. He puts himself about, he has scored so many goals for the under-21s, and he is the type of striker who celebrates goals in training.
“He has a great appetite for goals, and he is hungry to keep scoring. I would like to think that after his loan spell, he will break into the first team and go on to score goals for many years at Tottenham.”