Will Lankshear linked with Championship loan next season

Will Lankshear’s name may sound like William Shakespeare’s North London non-union equivalent, but if you don’t recognize him, his is a name you should definitely get to know. Lankshear was the brightest star in Tottenham Hotspur’s U21 squad that won the PL2 playoff tournament this spring, scoring 18 goals in 19 appearances at age 19. That’s put him on the radars of a lot of clubs in the lower divisions who are hoping they can land him on loan next season.

Just this morning there was a somewhat spurious rumor (which I won’t link to) that linked Lankshear to “negotiations” with Championship side Middlesbrough this summer, and which suggested a permanent transfer “hasn’t been ruled out.” But according to Alasdair Gold in Football.London, Tottenham are unlikely to sell him this summer, and he is expected to participate in preseason training under Ange Postecoglou before a decision is made on his immediate future.

That makes a ton of sense to me. Lankshear has already more or less proven that he’s too good for PL2 football, so a loan would be the next logical destination for him. Gold notes that the club rejected several loan approaches for Lankshear last January, but a move to the Championship or League One would seem appropriate, especially if Postecoglou doesn’t think he’s ready to be a first team contributor with Spurs next season.

If you cock your head and sprint (Edit: dangerous! try squinting.) you could make a potential argument for selling Lankshear to Boro or some other club, so long as you get a buy-back clause and/or a pretty hefty sell-on fee in that contract, and if that maybe greases the wheels for Spurs to purchase a promising young player like Hayden Hackney. But a loan to the Championship is an outstanding outcome for a player like Lankshear, who needs first team football in order to progress. Another option — as Gold mentions — might be with a League One club like Birmingham City, which recently appointed Postecoglou’s No. 1 assistant Chris Davies as head coach and who were relegated from the 2nd division last season. It’s a step lower in the pyramid, but Davies is expected to play football in a similar(ish) way to Postecoglou, and a player like Lankshear could get some significant minutes there under a manager that already knows him.

Either way, expect big things from Will Lankshear in the future. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get a loan this summer, though it may be a while yet before we know for sure.