Breaking: Middlesbrough closing in on deal to sign €2.5m star with add-ons as player convinced it’s right move

Will Lankshear has been linked with a loan move to Middlesbrough, and Spurs should see the Riverside as an ideal location for the striker.

Tottenham striker Will Lankshear is a player Middlesbrough are looking at this summer, and Spurs should feel confident that Boro would be the right move for him.

As FLW exclusively revealed, Middlesbrough are keen on a loan deal for Spurs academy star Will Lankshear this summer.

The 19-year-old has been playing for Tottenham’s academy team in great form this year, making five appearances and scoring four goals in various academy competitions in addition to netting 18 goals in 19 Premier League Two games.

Middlesbrough is one possible suitor for Spurs, who now seem prepared to find their young hot shot some mature experience.

FLW examines the reasons why Tottenham and Lankshear should be in favor of a shift to the North East.

Learning from Latte Lath

Few strikers finished the 2023–24 Championship season in better form than Emmanuel Latte Lath of Middlesbrough.

With his impressive 16 goals in 30 Championship games, the Ivorian forward secured the number nine shirt for Boro for the foreseeable future.

That shouldn’t deter Spurs or Lankshear from moving to Teesside, though, as the youthful goal scorer can only benefit from playing with and learning from a striker of Latte Lath’s caliber.

This season, the 25-year-old also experienced injury setbacks that caused him to miss 16 Championship games. Should the past recur and Lath fail to survive the upcoming season unharmed, Lankshear would probably be Michael Carrick’s backup pick.

Young striker Josh Coburn could compete for minutes with Lankshear, but he doesn’t appear to be a player that suits Carrick’s system of high intensity pressing from the front, something Lath is excellent at.

Lankshear is more of a pressing forward than Coburn, and should in theory make a better fit in Boro’s system.

Lankshear would thrive in Boro’s high volume crossing system

Now that Middlesbrough have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Luke Ayling on a permanent contract, Lankshear should be licking his lips at the prospect of playing in Carrick’s side.

High numbers of crosses into the opposition box contributed to Ayling’s eight assists in 19 Championship games. Lukas Engel and Alex Bangura also showed a similar desire to advance and feed balls into the box.

According to WhoScored, Middlesbrough’s 13.6 shots per game was seventh most in the second tier in 2023–24, while their 10.6 critical passes per game was sixth highest.

He is the quintessential “fox in the box” striker, displaying a high level of football intelligence despite his youth. Playing frequently off the shoulder of the final defender, Lankshear possesses the kind of movement and forward runs that might make him a valuable addition to a Boro team that excels in attack.

Lankshear would be a completely different string added to Middlesbrough’s attacking bow, should he make a summer move to Teesside.

Carrick’s impressive track record with PL loanees

If Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou wants to send his young forward to a place where he can have the best shot at developing, Middlesbrough should be right at the front of his mind.

This is due to Carrick’s demonstration during his first year and a half as Boro’s manager that elite players enter Riverside and emerge from it as much better players.

Last summer, Ryan Giles, Cameron Archer, and Aaron Ramsey all secured lucrative Premier League transfers, mostly due to the progress they had all made under Carrick.

He also made Morgan Rogers, a supposed £1 million Manchester City youth prospect, into a player Aston Villa was willing to pay up to £16 million for over the course of half a season, even though it wasn’t a loan deal.

The evidence speaks for itself, and Tottenham shouldn’t hold any reservations in sending their striking star up North this summer.