JAMES MADDISON summed up just how much excitement there is at Tottenham over the club’s clutch of teenage talents right now.
The England midfielder told assistant boss Matt Wells he “could not believe” how good they were earlier this summer.
Striker Will Lankshear leads that group – which also includes 17-year-old wonderkid Mikey Moore.
The centre-forward, 19, won the Premier League 2 player of the year last season and has impressed Ange Postecoglou so much in pre-season, there is a chance he could be in the first-team picture this term.
HOW DO THEY PLAY AND WHO DO THEY REMIND YOU OF?
AN exciting, young English striker released by Arsenal and picked up by Tottenham – where have we heard that one before?
Comparisons between Harry Kane and current Spurs starlet Lankshear are not hard to draw, and not just because of their similar path across North London at academy level.
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Lankshear, 19, has echoes of Kane in his physique, his willingness to improve and his predatory instincts inside the penalty box.
He has even celebrated scoring goals in a similar manner to the England captain, with that little jump and fist pump, although their all-round playing style differs.
It goes without saying that no one in N17 is expecting Lankshear to emulate Kane’s historic feats – that would be ridiculous and unfair pressure to put on any young player.
TELL US ABOUT HIS RISE
Lankshear began his footballing journey in the Arsenal academy along with older brother Alex Lankshear, 21 and now of Blackpool.
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Yet the Gunners made the questionable decision to let Will go in the summer of 2021 – perhaps because of a change in academy manager at the time, with Per Mertesacker arriving – just as they did all those years ago with a nine-year-old Kane.
Lankshear quickly shook off the disappointment and moved north to join Sheffield United.
The Blades scouts had been tipped off that Arsenal were not going to offer a deal and invited Lankshear in on a trial, where he impressed with his attitude and work-rate.
They agreed a scholarship contract in February 2021, with Lankshear valuing how the Yorkshire side had a track record of successfully moulding other physical centre-forwards such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Lankshear struck up a strong relationship with academy boss and former EFL striker Jack Lester, who regularly coached the forwards, including Daniel Jebbison and William Osula, now of Premier League pair Bournemouth and Newcastle respectively.
Lankshear, 19, has echoes of Kane in his physique, his willingness to improve and his predatory instincts inside the penalty box.
It was not long until he was training up with Paul Heckingbottom’s first team and it was in the Steel City where he honed his physical prowess, speed and agility.
Lankshear hit a hat-trick on his Blades’ Under-18s debut in a 4-1 win over Coventry and ended up with more than 30 goals at that level.
But when United encountered financial problems in the summer of 2022, they saw selling Lankshear as a chance to earn a quick return on a player that had cost them nothing.
Tottenham got him in a deal that could rise to £2.5million if all clauses are met was the first time Spurs had spent big on a teenager from the EFL since prising Dele Alli from MK Dons in 2015.
Lankshear was attracted to the world-class facilities at Spurs’ training ground and loved the idea of learning from record-scorer Kane, with whom he spent a season before the England captain’s move to Bayern Munich last August.
Yet his first six months in N17 were spent on the sidelines after an operation on his knee.
It meant that going into last season, all Lankshear was hoping for was an injury-free campaign – but he got so much more: ending up the Premier League 2 player of the season after his 21 goals and two assists in 22 games helped Spurs to the title.
Tellingly about his character, Lankshear showed his team-mates with praise when interviewed in May about his gong.
The youngster told Spurs’ website: “I’m proud of the goals I’ve scored but it’s all come from the team.
“The quality we’ve got in this team has definitely helped me and definitely I wouldn’t have got my top goalscorer without my team-mates.”
Lankshear could get more first-team opportunities this season given that there will be more fixtures – and scored in the EFL Trophy against Bristol Rovers last month.
He damaged his hamstring in that match but is expected to be fit by the end of the international break.
WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?
Paul Heckingbottom coached Lankshear at Sheffield United.
The 47-year-old told SunSport: “He was hungry. He was just what we were all about.
“Jack Lester quickly picked up on his movement in and around the box and thinking like a goalscorer which I think is his biggest attribute.
The way that Ange plays, having a No9 occupying centre-backs and trying to play on the shoulder and being good in the box is a big, big thing… Will can do that
Paul Heckingbottom
“When we were coaching him and putting on a session for the centre-backs, him and his movement could destroy a session. His instincts constantly caused problems as a coach and as a defender.
“The way that Ange plays, having a No9 occupying centre-backs and trying to play on the shoulder and being good in the box is a big, big thing. Will can do that.
“He makes good runs off the shoulder and he’s all about being alert and alive in the box and finishing chances.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes out on loan and see him scoring goals in the EFL.”
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WHAT DOES THE NEXT 12 MONTHS HOLD?
Dane Scarlett and Alejo Veliz were ahead in the pecking when the players returned in July but Lankshear’s energy and cameo displays off the bench saw him supersede those two, who have since been loaned respectively to Oxford and Espanyol.
Lankshear, who netted six goals in pre-season, could have been farmed out too, with Birmingham boss Chris Davies – Postecoglou’s No2 last season – keen to borrow him..
But with Richarlison’s continuous injury problems – and the recent setback to £65million new-boy Dominic Solanke – Spurs have decided to keep him close for the first half of the season at least.
Like whizkid team-mate Moore, Lankshear will be hoping for cameos here and there when back fit. His best chance of minutes will come in the cups and in the Europa League.
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The 19-year-old’s ability to find space in the box and finish, which he showed in pre-season goals against Hearts and Team K League, seems a good fit for Postecoglou’s attacking approach which carves out plenty of close-range opportunities for the central striker.
He would likely have the support of his team-mates too, with Lankshear understood to have felt like he’s been accepted by the senior pros in the dressing room.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
