The 'Kane-esque' striker Spurs may regret letting go

Leaping high, six yards out, to nod in Tommy Conway's cross from the left wing, Will Lankshear notched his ninth goal in 12 games for Middlesbrough.

It is that positioning, finishing and poacher's instinct, earning Boro a 1-0 win against Wolves on Saturday, that has made Lankshear an instant hit at Riverside Stadium – and a cause of lament at Tottenham Hotspur.

Lankshear joined Boro from Spurs in the summer on a five-year contract in a deal that could rise to a club record buy of £20m.

Since then, he has scored as many goals in all competitions as Spurs' combined team. His old side, despite snatching a draw at Manchester United a few hours after Lankshear's latest winner, remain in the Premier League relegation zone while Boro sit in the Championship's automatic promotion places.

Dominic Solanke's last-minute goal at Old Trafford was the first league goal scored by a Tottenham forward in five months.

It is enough to make Spurs fans despair.

"A lot of fans are wondering why he was sold," Ali Speechly, co-chair of the Women of the Lane supporters' group, told BBC Sport.

"It was likely to do with money - his sell-on price is relatively high, so let's cash in on him.

"I was definitely disappointed. Given how badly we have started this season, as a fan it feels like the wrong decision."

Amid a multi-million pound summer splurge, Spurs allowed Lankshear to leave for an initial fee worth about £10m, with an additional £10m due in add-ons based on various clauses.

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'Will has an opportunity and he is taking it'

Boro saw off competition around the Championship, and in Europe, to sign the 21-year-old who impressed at Oxford United in the second tier last season, scoring 12 league goals on loan for a relegated side.

Good form for a young player, but not so compelling he had to go straight into the Spurs first team.

"If you are a young kid at a club where you are not getting any first-team football and you get the opportunity to go and play men's football, you should go," former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Sport.

"The academies are great and Premier League 2 is a great feeder for the first team, but if you are 21, 22 or 23 and still mostly playing in the under-23s then you have missed the boat.

"Getting first-team football is the best grounding you can get for a young footballer, getting the opportunity to play in the first team, regardless of what league it is. Will has been given this opportunity, and he is taking it."

Lankshear scored 23 goals for Tottenham's U23 team in the 2023–24 Premier League 2 season and played for the senior side in the 2024-25 Europa League campaign – most notably scoring then getting sent off against Galatasaray.

But amid a churn of players and managers at Spurs, he has moved on – and Boro fans couldn't be happier.

Middlesbrough have built a reputation in recent years of providing a springboard for promising youngsters. Most notably, Morgan Rogers spent six months at Riverside Stadium before joining Aston Villa, and the rest is history.

Not only that, but Boro - who missed out on promotion last season after scoring only once in three play-off games - badly needed a skilful, physical presence who could finish the multitude of chances made by Kim Hellberg's creative but blunt side.

'A similar career path to Kane'

"Boro was a team that made a boatload of chances, and he knew he would be able to get on the end of them," BBC Tees commentator Mark Drury told BBC Sport.

"But what people have been impressed with is his instinctive finishing - one touch, just being in the right place. It's simple but not a lot of people know how to be there at the right time, to give yourself the highest percentage chance.

"He's taller and stockier than he might look from the sidelines, and he is only 21. He seems to have the all-round package - good with both feet and in the air."

A 6ft 2in English striker with a deadly finishing touch, who came through at Spurs before learning his trade in the Football League. Remind you of anyone?

"I can understand the comparisons with Harry Kane," said Robinson. "He has headed down a similar career path to Harry and, physically, he has a similar stature as well.

"Like Kane, he looks like a player who is developing a little later, compared to others who are Premier League regulars before the end of their teens.

"You look at him and the career path he is on; it is a very similar one to the one Harry Kane has been on, and that is a big positive. There is no substitute for playing in the first team somewhere, regardless of what level you are playing at."