Will Lankshear header secures Middlesbrough win as Spurs face questions over his sale

Will Lankshear leapt six yards out to nod Tommy Conway's left-wing cross at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, giving Middlesbrough a 1-0 victory against Wolves and registering his ninth goal in 12 games for the club.

Lankshear joined Middlesbrough from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer on a five-year contract in a deal that could rise to a club record buy of £20m, with an initial fee worth about £10m and a further £10m in add-ons. Since the move he has scored as many goals in all competitions as Spurs' combined team, while Spurs remain in the Premier League relegation zone and Boro sit in the Championship's automatic promotion places; Spurs had earlier snatched a draw at Manchester United when Dominic Solanke's last-minute goal at Old Trafford became the first league goal scored by a Tottenham forward in five months.

The goal against Wolves was a textbook poacher's finish: Lankshear rose to meet Conway's cross and headed home, continuing a run in which he has scored in all but one of Middlesbrough's home matches this season. That positioning and instinctive finishing have been singled out as the qualities making him an instant hit at the Riverside Stadium and decisive in Saturday's result.

Boro negotiated the transfer amid a summer spending spree and reportedly beat competition around the Championship and in Europe to sign the 21-year-old who had impressed on loan at Oxford United, where he scored 12 league goals for a side that was relegated. Middlesbrough's need for a skilful, physical presence capable of finishing the chances created by Kim Hellberg's creative but blunt side was cited as a key factor in the move.

Supporters and former players voiced frustration at Spurs' decision to sell. "A lot of fans are wondering why he was sold," Ali Speechly, co-chair of the Women of the Lane supporters' group, told BBC Sport. "It was likely to do with money - his sell-on price is relatively high, so let's cash in on him. I was definitely disappointed. Given how badly we have started this season, as a fan it feels like the wrong decision."

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson defended Lankshear's choice to pursue first-team football. "If you are a young kid at a club where you are not getting any first-team football and you get the opportunity to go and play men's football, you should go," Robinson told BBC Sport. "The academies are great and Premier League 2 is a great feeder for the first team, but if you are 21, 22 or 23 and still mostly playing in the under-23s then you have missed the boat. Getting first-team football is the best grounding you can get for a young footballer, getting the opportunity to play in the first team, regardless of what league it is. Will has been given this opportunity, and he is taking it."

Lankshear's background includes 23 goals for Tottenham's U23 team in the 2023–24 Premier League 2 season and appearances for Spurs' senior side in the 2024-25 Europa League, when he both scored and was sent off against Galatasaray; he also helped Spurs to win the Europa League in 2024-25. His early career saw spells at Arsenal's academy, a move to Sheffield United, then a £2m transfer to Spurs at 17, followed by mixed loan periods including an unremarkable spell at West Brom before the productive loan at Oxford.

Comparisons with Harry Kane have been made by figures around the game. "I can understand the comparisons with Harry Kane," Robinson said. "He has headed down a similar career path to Harry and, physically, he has a similar stature as well. Like Kane, he looks like a player who is developing a little later, compared to others who are Premier League regulars before the end of their teens. You look at him and the career path he is on; it is a very similar one to the one Harry Kane has been on, and that is a big positive. There is no substitute for playing in the first team somewhere, regardless of what level you are playing at." Mark Drury of BBC Tees added: "Boro was a team that made a boatload of chances, and he knew he would be able to get on the end of them. But what people have been impressed with is his instinctive finishing - one touch, just being in the right place. He's taller and stockier than he might look from the sidelines, and he is only 21. He seems to have the all-round package - good with both feet and in the air." Speechly also reflected: "Harry Kane didn't always have brilliantly successful loan spells, they are not always a marker of a player. He didn't do anything remarkable, but it is unfortunate as we are not scoring goals. It is painful to see. I don't think we will ever get another Kane, but there are definitely similarities. He is a real poacher and has a strong work ethic. It is very Kane-esque."

Lankshear scored on his England under-21 debut, against Kazakhstan in September, and there has been discussion about a step up from the under-21s. Referencing potential punishments for Manchester City, England manager Thomas Tuchel said he was open to calling up players outside the Premier League, external. If he is succession planning for 33-year-old Kane, given a paucity of top-flight options, a Lankshear call-up may not be so far-fetched.