Will Lankshear has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise terrible campaign for Oxford United in the Championship.
Tottenham Hotspur did get a fair few decisions wrong when loaning out players during the summer transfer window.
The academy prospects, in particular, suffered from a lack of game time and ended up wasting the first half of the campaign. Spurs have tried rectifying their mistakes by recalling certain academy talents and immediately loaning them out to other clubs with the hope of a different outcome this time around.
On the contrary, there have been a couple of youngsters whose loan moves have clicked. The most glaring example is of Luka Vuskovic, who has shone at SV Hamburger and become a colossal in their defence. South Korean teenager Yang Min-hyeok was doing well at Portsmouth lately, but Spurs felt he’d benefit from playing at the top of the Championship; so, they cut short his loan with Portsmouth and sent him to table-toppers Coventry City for the second half of the campaign.
Will Lankshear scores for Oxford United vs. MK Dons in the FA Cup, racking up 3 G/A in 4 games
Another Tottenham talent doing well out on loan is Will Lankshear. The 20-year-old joined Oxford United on a season-long loan in August last year. The centre-forward had a fantastic record in youth football for Spurs, and he made an impression in the first team last season.
Will Lankshear made six senior appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring his only goal so far in a 3-2 Europa League defeat to Turkish giants Galatasaray last season, in which he was later shown a red card. He spent the second half of last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, making 11 appearances without scoring a goal. However, the Englishman is now proving himself in his second stint in the Championship, having already registered six goals and an assist in 24 Championship outings.
The young striker has been in good form of late. Lankshear has three goal contributions in his last four outings for Oxford United, including a vital equaliser against MK Dons in the FA Cup on Friday evening. His strike in the second half to cancel out Aaron Collins’ 34th-minute goal helped his team draw 1-1 with MK Dons, before Oxford United won the penalty shootout 4-3 and advanced to the FA Cup fourth round.
Tottenham set to keep close tabs on Lankshear’s development under Matt Bloomfield
Oxford United are struggling in the Championship as they find themselves in 23rd spot in the table, three points adrift of the drop zone. The U’s sacked manager Gary Rowett last month and have appointed Matt Bloomfield as his replacement on Friday. Bloomfield faces a massive task of maintaining the club’s Championship status.
Tottenham, meanwhile, will be keeping close tabs on how Lankshear develops and performs under Bloomfield. A change in approach and system may provide the England youth international with more impetus, as Lankshear hopes to complete the season strongly at the Kassam Stadium and catch the eye of Spurs boss Thomas Frank.
