Tottenham ‘will be raging’ after Mowbray admission on Will Lankshear
Tottenham prospect Will Lankshear is not enjoying life on loan at West Brom.
The 19-year-old made his senior debut for Spurs in October but was sent to The Hawthorns in January to get regular first-team football under his belt.
However, that has not worked out so far, the Lilywhites loanee has featured seven times out of a possible ten but only for 152 minutes.
In the Baggies’ last five league matches, Lankshear was left on the bench for two games and has seen just 25 minutes of action in the other three.
Lankshear admission is worrying for Tottenham
Tottenham would have hoped to see Lankshear starting regularly, but he has failed to overtake Adam Armstrong in the pecking order.
Tony Mowbray addressed the issue in his pre-match press conference (4 April) and made a stunning admission on the Lilywhites ace.
He said: “Adam Armstrong gets picked because he’s proven, his record’s there over a long time. Will has to get to that level.
“He’s a different type of player, of course. He’s got better physicality, more physicality. The issue in my mind is that if I thought Will was the answer and he’d score the goals, then he would’ve been on the pitch.”
Tottenham need Lankshear to be playing
Championship loans have been profitable for Spurs in the past, with Harry Kane being loaned to the likes of Norwich, Millwall and Leicester before he made his breakthrough in North London.
Lankshear can benefit from a spell in the second tier, like the legendary England striker did, but he needs to be playing more often to develop his talents.
| Stats | Lankshear |
| Matches | 7 |
| Starts | 1 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Minutes played | 152 |
He would have hoped to be the starting number nine in the West Midlands with Daryl Dike and Josh Maja ruled out for a significant period, but the Baggies signed Armstrong after the Spurs star made the move.
Lankshear has been reduced to a rotation option, and given Mowbray’s latest admission, that is unlikely to change before the end of the season.
The loan will end up being pointless if the young attacker does not play regularly, and Ange Postecoglou will be very frustrated by what has happened.
Albion are in a battle to secure a place in the playoffs and hopefully a return to the Premier League, but Spurs will not be concerned by that; rather, they will question Lankshear’s lack of minutes as it will ultimately harm his development.
The only positive may be that the Spurs loanee will learn that he needs to up his game and may use that as motivation to step up for the North Londoners in the future when the time comes.