West Brom have struck gold on a bigger talent than Will Lankshear

West Bromwich Albion moved up into fourth place in the Championship table on Saturday afternoon after they beat West Ham United 3-1 at the London Stadium.

The Baggies have won seven of their 13 matches in the second tier under James Morrison, who is enjoying a terrific start to his first full season in first-team management.

They are still four points adrift of league leaders Middlesbrough, though, as the Teesiders have only lost one of their 13 games in the Championship this term.

Kim Hellberg’s side have been exceptional in the league this season and have been spearheaded by the form of centre-forward Will Lankshear.

How Will Lankshear has exploded at Middlesbrough

Boro fell short in the play-off final last term, as they lost 1-0 to Hull City in the final, and their attack let them down in the end, as they missed 70 ‘big chances’ and underperformed their xG in the Championship.

Hellberg did not have a clinical centre-forward to take advantage of the ‘big chances’ that his team consistently created, which is why they swooped to sign Lankshear from Tottenham Hotspur.

The 21-year-old striker scored 11 goals in 44 games on loan at Oxford United in the 2025/26 campaign, and has already bettered that return in the first few months of his career at the Riverside.

Lankshear has the highest xG total (10.28) in the division, which speaks to the quality of Boro’s build-up play, and he has scored 13 goals from those chances, leading the Golden Boot race by five goals after his brace against Charlton on Saturday.

As good as the England U21 international, who has scored 15 goals in all competitions, has been, he has thrived because he has been plugged into an exceptionally coached team that creates seemingly endless chances for their striker.

West Brom have an even bigger talent than Will Lankshear

Lankshear was not quite as effective at Oxford, when he did not get as much service in the final third, and that goes a way to explaining how West Brom have unearthed an even bigger talent than the Boro superstar.

Morrison swooped to sign Jimmy-Jay Morgan from Premier League side Chelsea for a fee of £5m in the summer transfer window, and he has been a revelation at The Hawthorns.

The England U20 international has carried the team’s attack throughout the campaign and looks like an even bigger talent than Lankshear because of the difference in situations at their respective clubs.

Whilst the number nine has gone into a Middlesbrough team that is built to supply him with all the ‘big chances’ that he needs, Morgan is in a West Brom side that is not as creative as a unit.

Action Images/Lee Smith

Boro have created 14 more ‘big chances’ (45) than West Brom (31) in the league this season, have a higher xG (27.99) than the Baggies (19.3), and have a higher xA (18.31) than Morrison’s side (13.91) so far.

These statistics suggest that Lankshear is in a better environment to shine as an attacking player, as his teammates are consistently creating high-quality opportunities to find the back of the net.

Morgan, meanwhile, has to do the heavy lifting on his own at times, which is why he currently leads the way among his teammates for goals, despite not having the highest xG, ‘big chances’ created, and assists.

The 20-year-old talent, who is a year younger than Lankshear, is a complete forward who can make an impact without help from his teammates, because he has the quality to score as well as create, as shown with a goal and an assist against West Ham.

Lankshear, though, has played 13 times in the Championship this season and has only created one ‘big chance’ and has yet to assist a single goal for his team, whilst he has also failed with 80% of his attempted dribbles.

The English number nine is not as effective when the team around him is not playing well, due to his lack of creativity and dribbling quality, but that is not the case for Morgan.

Action Images/Lee Smith

West Brom’s star forward, therefore, may be an even bigger talent than Lankshear and have a greater chance of making the step up to the Premier League in the future, because he has more to his game and does not need to rely on service from others to be effective.