Tottenham’s Will Lankshear Decision Looks More Costly With Every Goal at Middlesbrough

There are transfer calls that drift quietly into the background, and there are transfer calls that keep shouting back at a club every weekend. Tottenham’s decision to let Will Lankshear leave belongs firmly in the second category.

As Spurs search for authority, composure and conviction through the middle, Lankshear is doing exactly what young strikers are supposed to do when confidence is coursing through them. He is scoring, influencing games and making people ask awkward questions in north London.

Will Lankshear form sharpens Tottenham concern

At Middlesbrough, the 21-year-old has settled with the kind of ease that turns a promising move into a glaring indictment. Eight goals in 11 appearances in all competitions is the return of a forward playing on instinct and feeding off belief. Every finish adds weight to the suspicion that Tottenham moved too soon, and thought too little about what they were giving away.

That scrutiny has intensified because Spurs have lacked a reliable focal point. Dominic Solanke has struggled for rhythm and certainty, Mathys Tel has yet to impose himself either from the left or through the middle, and there is a growing sense that Omar Marmoush is more naturally suited operating behind the striker or drifting in from wide areas.

Striker depth leaves Spurs exposed

That is why the criticism has become so fierce. One well-placed observer summed up the frustration clearly: “It does [look silly] when you exclude Richarlison out of choice as well, because it basically means all we have got now is a Dominic Solanke that’s devoid of confidence, Mathys Tel is devoid of confidence either on the left wing or as a striker, and I think Marmoush is better suited playing as a 10 or off the wing than as a striker.”

The same verdict cut deeper still: “We have actually let go of a striker that is bang in confidence, that’s got the correct build to be a striker, especially in a De Zerbi system. He’s English, he supports the club, and he’s scoring goals for fun, it doesn’t just look like a mistake, it looks like an utter disaster to have moved Lankshear on.”

Academy record made sale hard to justify

Lankshear’s rise has not emerged from nowhere. At academy level, his scoring record demanded attention. He struck 18 goals in 19 Premier League 2 matches in the 2023-24 season and claimed the Golden Boot, a return that spoke of penalty-box craft, timing and a calm eye for goal.

Tottenham chose to cash in. Right now, with their attack short on certainty and Lankshear flourishing in the Championship, that choice looks less like squad management and more like a misjudgement that may haunt them for some time.