Will Lankshear sends Ange Postecoglou a message as he scores a brace in Tottenham Under-21s win on Friday
Tottenham Under-21s star Will Lankshear will wonder why he has not been called up to the first-team after yet another goalscoring display.
Spurs’ Under-21s picked up where they left off after a three-and-a-half week rest and got 2024 started with a 3-2 win at Southampton Under-21s on Friday 12 January.
It is now 10 wins from 10 for Wayne Burnett’s side in Premier League 2 this season, and they had Lankshear’s efforts to thank for the victory on this occasion.
Several regulars were not involved against the Saints, most notably Jamie Donley, but that didn’t stop the North London side from keeping their 100 per cent record this season intact.
They had to fight adversity at times, twice being pegged back but remained composed to earn a much-deserved three points. Max Robson gave Spurs the lead in the 32nd minute before Southampton skipper Cameron Bragg equalised from the penalty spot with five minutes remaining in the first half.
Lankshear got his first of the night with a composed finish from a tight angle just before the hour mark, and just a minute after Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez had equalised for the home side, the striker got his second to win it for Spurs nine minutes from time, although he wouldn’t have known much about it.
Sonnie Davis’ attempted clearance from inside his own six-yard box bounced off Lankshear’s head and into the back of the net, and while it was not a goal for the showreel, it demonstrated how the 18-year-old often finds himself in the right place at the right time.
The goals were his seventh and eighth of the current Premier League 2 campaign, in which he has made nine appearances, while he also has two strikes to his name in his three EFL Trophy appearances this year.
With two assists to add to the 18-year-old’s impressive goalscoring tally this season, it is a mystery why he has not yet been offered a place in any of Postecoglou’s first-team squads.
Due to injuries and suspensions, the Australian has been forced to call upon several stars from the Under-21s setup this season, with Donley, Alfie Dorrington and Yago Santiago all earning spots on Premier League benches, with Donley even getting some minutes on the pitch.
With this in mind, Lankshear will perhaps feel slightly overlooked. He has double the number of goals Donley has in Premier League 2 action this season, and two more than Santiago.
If the striker continues to score at this rate, it surely won’t be long until he earns a place in a first-team squad, especially with Tottenham captain Son Heung-min now away on Asia Cup duty and Alejo Veliz out injured.
In other Tottenham news, one finance expert believes the club are in pole position to secure more transfers this month after the signings of Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner.