West Brom and Middlesbrough are among several Championship clubs to register an interest in signing Tottenham Hotspur attacker Will Lankshear on loan for the rest of the season.
Albion have been in the hunt for a new striker since Josh Maja suffered a hamstring injury requiring surgery. Daryl Dike is nearly back from a serious Achilles issue, but the American will need to be eased in before he plays regularly, so a loan signing is being sought.
Ipswich Town forward Ali Al-Hamadi was understood to be very close to joining West Brom but an issue was picked up during his medical. The Iraq international joined Stoke City instead, and he will spend until the end of the current campaign at Bet365 Stadium.
Football London reports West Brom are hopeful of landing Lankshear to fix their striker issue but face competition from Middlesbrough, Luton Town and Cardiff City. Clubs abroad are also said to hold an interest but Spurs would prefer to see how how their wonderkid fares in the Championship.
Still just 19 years of age, Lankshear has made his senior breakthrough for Tottenham this season with six appearances across the Premier League and UEFA Europa League. The teenager scored his first Spurs goal in the latter, netting his team’s equalizer in the 3-2 defeat away at Galatasaray. Rather unfortunately, Lankshear was also sent off in that game for two yellow card offences.
A devastatingly clinical player at youth level, the England U20 international scored 23 goals in 23 Premier League 2 appearances last season before making the step up to the first team. During the campaign preceding that, Lankshear hinted at what he was capable of with four goals and two assists in five U18 Premier League matches.
How would Will Lanskhear fit in at West Brom?
Although new West Brom manager Tony Mowbray has suggested a striker signing before the window closes isn’t an absolute necessity, there’s no doubting Albion would be better off with a new face leading the line.
Originally on the books at Sheffield United but snapped up by Spurs as a 17-year-old for £1 million, Lankshear is an out-and-out center-forward, so he’d help sort West Brom’s issue. Standing at 6 ft 2 in, the striker isn’t the quickest, but he’s got excellent technical ability.
Lankshear wouldn’t be guaranteed to start every match for the Baggies—especially straight away—but the Spurs number 42 would provide strong competition for the likes of Karlan Grant, Jed Wallace, and Grady Diangana, all of whom have played as auxiliary strikers recently.
Albion certainly didn’t lack firepower in the recent 5-1 victory over Portsmouth at The Hawthorns, but the season on the whole has been rather stop-start in front of goal. A division-high 14 draws in 29 matches has denied the Baggies the chance to compete with the top four—Leeds United, Sheffield United, Burnley, and Sunderland—who have now all marched off into the distance.
Beating Boro to Lankshear’s signature could be important for West Brom, not only to improve their own front line but also to stop their direct rivals from doing so themselves. Behind Albion by merely two goal difference, Michael Carrick’s side are firmly in contention for a play-off finish.
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