Last season was so wretched for Tottenham Hotspur. This great and historic football club had been reduced to a mess, one teetering on the edge of falling into the Championship.
Alas, once all was said and done, Roberto De Zerbi was able to turn things around. Spurs survived on the final day by the skin of their teeth.
To ensure they were never down there again, they decided to spend over £300m in the summer but that also meant selling. While few fans will bat an eyelid at the fact that Cristian Romero and Djed Spence departed, they will be incredibly upset at how Will Lankshear is now performing.
Remarkably, he’d now be Tottenham’s best striker.
Why Spurs will be gutted about Lankshear
Behind the scenes, Lankshear has earned rave reviews for some time now without ever truly cementing himself as a genuine first-team prospect.
For Spurs, he played just six times, scoring one goal in the Europa League.
Away from London, there was something of a Harry Kane-esque journey to it. Before becoming a Spurs legend and Ballon d’Or winner, Kane struggled in the EFL.
Lankshear did not exactly falter at Oxford United last term. He scored 12 goals. But, that was enough to convince De Zerbi that he wasn’t going to cut it in the Premier League. Fair enough, right?
Well, the striker has proven everyone wrong this season, not least those back at Spurs.
While the Lilywhites struggle for goals – their joint top scorer this term is Ben Davies with two – their former employee has been banging them in for fun at Middlesbrough.
“You have to feed the beast and he’s delivering every time we give him the ball,” said Middlesbrough midfielder Sebastian Berhalter last week. A beast is exactly what Lankshear has been at the Riverside.
This is the top scorer in the Championship, a player with 15 goals in 16 matches in all competitions. But for an injury, an England call-up was on the way.
That’s incredibly rare for a player in the second tier. The last player from that division to earn England recognition was James Trafford during Burnley’s immense promotion-winning campaign of 2024/25.
So, Lankshear is doing pretty well. It’s just a shame those who have taken his place at Spurs, chiefly Omar Marmoush, have not set the world alight.
Why Marmoush is not the man to make up for Lankshear’s exit
Tottenham had a decision in the summer and they got it wrong. If we’re being totally honest, though, it’s incredibly difficult to criticise the thought process.
After nearly getting relegated, they needed proven Premier League talents and they secured that in Savio and Marmoush. Sure, they may not have been Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye – two of Spurs’ other key targets – but they had both performed well for Manchester City in the past.
Unfortunately for Marmoush, he is yet to come alive in north London. Spurs would likely have been better off keeping Lankshear at the club.
While the Egyptian did find the net against Coventry City a few weeks ago, that is the only goal involvement of his Lilywhites career. The nadir of his time then came against Leeds last weekend.
|
Marmoush vs Leeds |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
65 |
|
Touches |
20 |
|
Accurate passes |
6/6 |
|
xG |
0.16 |
|
Shots |
2 |
|
Shots on target |
1 |
|
Duels won |
4/9 |
|
Distance covered |
7.5km |
It was an abject performance. He had just two shots, one of which was on target, while he also completed only six passes in the whole match before being withdrawn in the 65th minute.
A bigger talent than Lankshear can replace Marmoush
Under De Zerbi, the club have made numerous improvements, not least at the back where they now look incredibly organised and well-drilled.
Up top, they are fighting a losing battle. Marmoush is inconsistent, as is Dominic Solanke, while Richarlison has been jettisoned from the first-team picture and is due to leave in 2027.
So, how about correcting their Lankshear mistake and turning their attention towards a player in the academy? De Zerbi needs to show now that there is a pathway for the stars of tomorrow at Tottenham.
In Luca Williams-Barnett, he may well have the answer.
Linked with a move away from the English capital as a result of a lack of game time, it would not be a surprise to see the talented 18-year-old take his leave, just as Lankshear did if more opportunities are not forthcoming.
Well, now is the perfect time to give him more minutes. There are three primary reasons. The first is that he is really rather good. The second is Mathys Tel’s injury and the third is the form of Marmoush.
Tel hobbled off with an Achilles problem that left Spurs enraged after Jayden Bogle somehow escaped a red card for a late challenge. Consequently, there is a vacancy on the left and Williams-Barnett could be the man to fill it. Likewise, he could be a handy option ahead of Marmoush at the top end of the pitch.
One of the things that makes the teenager such a standout prospect is his versatility. While his two Premier League appearances have so far come on the left flank, he has played as a striker and as an attacking midfielder over the last year. He was phenomenal in that more central role last term, specifically at academy level, scoring 16 goals in 19 matches.
He knows where the back of the net is and his short but vibrant cameos in recent weeks have led to rave reviews. This is a player who, unlike Lankshear, is making the most of any chance he gets in the senior team.
That much was evident against Crystal Palace just over a week ago where he was denied a jaw-dropping assist on his Premier League debut when Mohammed Kudus missed the youngster’s cutback from a matter of yards out.
Described as “one of England’s best talents at youth level” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, Williams-Barnett’s future is incredibly bright, even brighter than Lankshear’s, and he now deserves his chance ahead of both Tel and Marmoush to show his true capabilities at senior level.
