After four games of the Premier League season, Tottenham Hotspur had yet to find the net.
Where on earth had all of that money been spent? It was a joyous summer for Spurs who after surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth, spent over £300m to ensure they were never down at the bottom of the table again.
Well, considering they sat in 20th when the first international break arrived, things had gone rather wrong.
While they have rediscovered their form now, there is likely to be an element of regret surrounding Will Lankshear. He now looks like one of the best young strikers in the country.
How Will Lankshear has played since leaving Spurs
Six games and one goal. That was the sum of Lankshear’s senior Spurs career. Judging by that, you can understand why they decided to cash in to the tune of £10m when they spending so big elsewhere.
Funds needed to be recouped and they saw the English centre-forward as an expendable asset. He’d never really made an impression in the few chances he’d got at first-team level so Roberto De Zerbi thought it would be best to send him packing.
Last term, he had caught the eye but in scoring 11 goals across 44 Championship matches for Oxford United, there was a feeling that he wasn’t cut out for Premier League life.
How wrong were Spurs? Sure, Lankshear isn’t playing at the top level just yet but has proven the decision makers back at Hotspur Way rather wrong.
The 21-year-old is now the finest player in the second tier and has scored as many as 13 goals in 13 league matches for Middlesbrough. Across all competitions, he has 15 in 16 appearances. He’s now a ruthless attacker and someone who is even in the conversation to get an England call-up.
That feels unlikely right now but a conversation is there to be had about whether this really is the natural successor to Harry Kane for the Three Lions.
Why Spurs will regret losing Lankshear
Lankshear may not have truly set the world alight at Oxford United last season or delivered awe-inspiring performances for the Tottenham first-team but for those in the know, he was always a hot young prospect.
Described as a “Kane regen” by some, he’s now firmly demonstrating that sort of character. A Ballon d’Or is not calling his name anytime soon but he’s evidently one of the best English strikers out there right now. His goal tally says it all.
So, there should be regret on Spurs’ end here. They need goals and Lankshear is delivering precisely that at Boro.
It took Tottenham five games before they finally found the net in the Premier League this season and while we have seen the likes of Dominic Solanke, Mathys Tel and Omar Marmoush find the net in recent weeks, no one in the whole squad has scored more than two goals.
They were impressive against Crystal Palace last weekend but it spoke volumes that their two goalscorers, Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke, were defenders.
Under Roberto De Zerbi, the Lilywhites are certainly sterner and more organised at the back but their forward play still leaves something to be desired. Solanke has struggled too. Perhaps Lankshear should have been kept around?
Spurs have another Lankshear brewing
After such a big spend in the summer, Tottenham’s squad depth is now as good as it has ever been. That is bad news for the young players trying to make their name.
It’s why Lankshear sought fit to leave and it’s why Luca Williams-Barnett has barely kicked a ball at first-team level yet.
It’s also bad news for another young player compared to Kane in years gone by; Mikey Moore.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a fine time of it on loan at Rangers last season, scoring seven goals and registering four assists up in Scotland and he returned to London with a point to prove.
He proved that point in pre-season and in the early stages of 2026/27. Moore scored twice against Hoffenheim while also registering a goal and an assist against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup.
However, like with Lankshear, De Zerbi still didn’t fully trust him and with Savio and Marmoush both arriving, he was sent out on loan to Cologne. Sadly for the teenager, it’s not going well for him out in Germany.
The forward is yet to score and has only supplied one assist. German publication BILD have described his loan spell in the Bundesliga as a ‘mess’.
They explained further: ‘Bewilderment and impatience. The hoped-for game-changer is barely visible. Moore has top-class potential, but it shines through too infrequently. He lacks consistency and goal threat’.
|
Mikey Moore mins per game @ Koln |
|
|---|---|
|
Opposition |
Mins played |
|
vs Stuttgart |
45′ |
|
vs Werder Bremen |
74′ |
|
vs Hamburg |
90′ |
|
vs Gladbach |
85′ |
|
vs Frankfurt |
22′ |
|
vs Schalke |
68′ |
|
vs Union Berlin |
72′ |
|
vs Union Berlin |
29′ |
Worrying times indeed for one of the most vibrant young players to come out of Hotspur Way in recent years. Like Lankshear, Moore has been tipped for greatness.
After starring in the Europa League against AZ Alkmaar, James Maddison remarked that it was “like having Neymar on the left wing”. Comparisons don’t get much greater than that.
At academy level, he has been sensational, scoring 19 in 24 outings for the U18s and while he has made an impression at first-team level, the chances of him securing regular minutes back at Spurs seems unlikely.
Like Lankshear, therefore, he may have to leave permanently in January or next summer. Upon his return to Spurs, he would have to fight for minutes with Savio, Marmoush, Tel, Williams-Barnett, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert. There are simply far too many players in the way.
