West Brom hope to sign Tottenham forward that has ‘good gift to score goals’ as Ryan Mason uses his connections
West Bromwich Albion have reportedly expressed a strong interest in re-signing Tottenham Hotspur wonderkid Will Lankshear despite his underwhelming loan spell at the end of last season.
Lankshear was signed by Tony Mowbray in January on a six-month loan deal until the end of the season but failed to score in any of his 11 appearances at Championship level as results quickly began to unravel on the pitch.
The England Under-20 international was included in the starting line-up on just four occasions throughout his time at the Hawthorns with the other seven appearances coming from the subs bench as he struggled to make a telling impact.
However, incoming manager Ryan Mason, who knows Lankshear well from his time as a coach at Tottenham, is reportedly interested in revisiting the deal and giving the youngster more opportunities to showcase what he’s capable of at Championship level.
Pundit claims Adam Armstrong loan move blocked Will Lankshear’s progress
Armstrong, who had been a contender for the Golden Boot with Southampton at this level just a year prior after scoring 24 goals, was naturally seen as the first choice and started his Baggies career in dream fashion with a winner against Sheffield Wednesday. However, the 28-year-old failed to live up the high expectations he arrived with and only managed three goals in 16 league appearances, with 12 of those being starts.
Fan pundit Callum Burgess told Football League World that the signing of Armstrong hampered Lankshear’s progress and prevented the 20-year-old from showing whether or not he was cut out for the demands of Championship football.
He explained: “I think Lankshear was probably a victim of the Adam Armstrong deal, where obviously Mowbray would’ve been keen to reunite with him, and his goal record in particular would’ve been hoped that he could hit the heights that he’s been able to do so before. But obviously Lankshear was signed in mind without that factor of Armstrong coming in.
“So he’d have probably played more games had we not signed Armstrong, which is unfortunate as in the limited games that he did have, he did show he was willing to run, and was willing to put himself about.I think a full season at Albion would be beneficial for him, especially when we’ve got Maja and Dike in the last year of their contracts as well. It might be a scenario if one of them goes if Lankshear has a full season, come in and out of the team for the first time in senior football. It would be good for his development and good for the club as well.”
Why West Brom could re-explore Will Lankshear deal
Will Lankshear joined Tottenham’s academy in 2024 after making a huge impression at Sheffield United at youth level. During his time in South Yorkshire, he proved he could score goals with 38 goals in 48 appearances for the United age-group teams in total. He was described by then manager Paul Heckingbottom as having “a good gift to score goals”.
Lankshear had been offered a contract to stay at Bramall Lane but instead opted to move to North London with Tottenham paying around £2.5m in compensation. The 20-year-old has since scored 25 in 36 games at Under-21 level and has scored once in six appearances for the senior team with one of his goals coming against Turkish champions Galatasaray in a 3-2 Europa league defeat.
The forward is thought to be highly rated by Tottenham coaches and is someone that Ryan Mason knows well from his time at the club.
