Roberto De Zerbi will wonder why Johan Lange sold Tottenham Hotspur’s only natural goalscorer in the summer.
Will Lankshear showed Tottenham Hotspur exactly what they were missing at the weekend. The 21-year-old striker, who was sold by the Lilywhites in the summer, helped Kim Hellberg’s side stay top of the Championship with a 3-0 win over Middlesbrough against Charlton Athletic at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Lankshear doubled the Teesside outfit’s lead just before the break, slotting the ball past Arthur Okonkwo from close range. The former Spurs striker latched on to a great cross from Sebastian Berhalter, who had stalled earlier in the first half, and exploited the gap behind the opposition backline before finding the net.
Then, in the 82nd minute, Lankshear put the third and final nail in the Charlton Athletic coffin, curling the ball from the edge of the box into the top-left corner with his seemingly weak left foot.
Signed by Middlesbrough for an initial fee of £8m, plus a further £12m in performance-based add-ons, the England Under-21 international has now established himself as one of the country’s most promising young strikers, scoring 15 goals in 16 games in all competitions.
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In fact, since joining Hellberg’s team, Lankshear has scored just shy of what Tottenham have scored as a team. The Englishman and his former employers would have been level had Jan Paul van Hecke not doubled the Lilies’ lead against Crystal Palace on Saturday night.
Speaking to reporters at the weekend, the Middlesbrough boss reflected on Lankshear’s start to the campaign. When asked by our colleagues at Teeside Live how he managed to prize the prospect from Spurs, Hellberg singled out his recruitment team for praise.
He said: “To be fair, I think he watched us play and I think it was more about Kieran [Scott] and all those around met and talked with him. He had good control over the championship and how we played.
“When I spoke to him, you could tell he was very interested in getting into this game and getting into the shirt, getting into our style of play. He saw himself doing very well at it. So fair play.
“It was a good decision and I’d like to thank all the staff as a group and a recruiting team who worked so hard to get him here. He’s been brilliant and he’s been working hard and that’s what we want.”
When asked why Lankshear was able to hit the ground running on Teeside, Hellberg said: “He’s the same guy who came through the door a few months ago and I meet every day.
“He always has a smile on his face, except when he misses chances in training! He works very, very hard, he wants to improve and he has a very good relationship with all the players in the group. When he doesn’t start the game, he has a very positive attitude towards the other players.
“And that’s how you build your character. That’s also how you build people who want to fight for you. He’s done that and I think I’ve got the band.
“I have an exceptional group in their attitude, how they work, how they look after each other and how they help each other. It’s not always easy in terms of modern football where players don’t tend to stay at one club. It’s something that’s very important to us.”
Hellberg continued: “Playing in a team like ours helps. I don’t think many teams in Europe create more chances than us. He has incredible team-mates around him who fit him well in his role.
“He’s come here and he’s been improving a lot throughout the season. I think he was better in the box from the first day and how he finished, but today he improved his quality in the run-and-turn game, which he’s strong in, and it also gave him the third goal.
“It comes from massive pressure. He’s made big strides and works hard every day to improve and that’s what got him here. But at the end of the day, it also helps to have fantastic team-mates who set him up brilliantly.
“It’s a great tribute to both him and his teammates around him…”