Richarlison’s potential sale could make room for ‘this’ 20yo in the Tottenham squad.
Will Lankshear could be set to earn a place in Roberto De Zerbi’s first-team squad next season, with analyst John Wenham believing the young striker has done enough during his loan spell at Oxford United to merit a shot at senior football in north London.
Lankshear has quietly put together a solid Championship campaign for a struggling Oxford side, contributing 10 goals and three assists in 43 appearances. Scoring 10 goals in a team rooted in the bottom three of the second tier is no small achievement, and the numbers compare favourably with what Tottenham’s more established forwards have managed in the Premier League this season. Richarlison has scored nine league goals in 27 appearances. Solanke has managed just three in 13. Kolo Muani, on loan from PSG, has contributed one in 24.
Wenham, speaking exclusively to TottenhamNews, made the case for Lankshear’s inclusion in straightforward terms. He said:
“Will Lankshear got his tenth goal of the season for Oxford, and he’s another one who, if you’re talking about making a pathway, you’ve got 10 goals in a team that are in the bottom three of the Championship. Will will always give you hard work, graft, going up for 50-50s. It’s a real pain to play against, and he’s now getting the goals that reward him for that.”
Golden opportunity for Will Lankshear at Tottenham next season?
The pathway into the squad could open up naturally this summer. Kolo Muani returns to PSG at the end of his loan, and Richarlison, with just a year remaining on his contract, is widely expected to be sold. That double exit creates a genuine vacancy, and Wenham believes Lankshear deserves to fill it.
“With Randal Kolo Muani going back from his loan, with Richarlison only having a year left, I expect him to be sold, so there could also be a space in the squad for Will to be made as well. I think it makes sense.”
The comparison to Harry Kane’s development pathway is ambitious but not entirely without logic. Kane spent time at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich, and Leicester before establishing himself as Tottenham‘s main striker. Lankshear has followed a similar trajectory through West Brom and Oxford, developing his physicality and work rate at a level where senior football demands have sharpened him considerably.
West Brom supporters were reportedly reluctant to see him leave after his loan there, with Wenham noting that Lankshear scored more than any of their three senior forwards during his spell at the Hawthorns.
Whether De Zerbi sees him as ready for the step up remains to be seen. But the numbers make a compelling argument, and at a club in the middle of a significant rebuild, giving a proven, hungry young striker his opportunity costs considerably less than another expensive acquisition who fails to deliver.