The last few years have been incredibly turbulent and full of change for Tottenham Hotspur.
The North Londoners have employed four full-time managers in as many years, with the likes of José Mourinho, Nuno Espírito Santo, and Antonio Conte all unable to deliver the success or brand of football the fans desire.
Now, while it’s too early to comment on the success side of things, the latest man in the hot seat, Ange Postecoglou, has undoubtedly been able to bring the style of football back that the fans so desperately wanted, and all without arguably the best player in the club’s history, Harry Kane.
However, the good news is that should the Australian stay in the job long enough, he could have his own version of the Englishman, as one of the club’s most exciting academy graduates looks like he could develop into a goalscoring machine in the not-too-distant future.
Kane's Spurs legacy
Kane made his Spurs debut in August 2011, starting in the second leg of a Europa League qualification round against Hearts in a game that ultimately ended goalless.
The next few seasons would see the Walthamstow-born poacher move around the country on loan, joining Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and then finally Leicester City for the 12/13 campaign, where he was actually quite underwhelming, scoring twice in 15 appearances.
Upon his return to White Hart Lane, the Englishman made a few appearances for the U21 side but was finally integrated into the first team towards the end of the season. He ended the year with four goals and two assists in 19 appearances across the Premier League, League Cup, Europa League, and FA Cup.
We all know what happened next, as after years of grafting and fighting for his chance, the future England captain finally had it. In 51 appearances in the 14/15 season, he scored a whopping 31 goals and provided five assists; the rest, as they say, is history.
When the Lilywhites icon finally left the club for Bayern Munich last summer, he did so with an astounding record of 280 goals and 61 assists in 435 appearances, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.27 games.
While that seems like an impossible level of output to replace, Hotspur Way may be in the process of producing their next Kane.
And before you think it might be the hugely exciting Mikey Moore, it’s not. Step forward another hot property in the academy…
Why fans should be excited about Will Lankshear
So, the youngster in question is the incredibly exciting 19-year-old centre-forward Will Lankshear.
The young Englishman is probably a familiar name to a number of Spurs fans, and for good reason. In the youth teams, he has shown that he is a striker with a real eye for goal and one who looks to have a bright future ahead of him.
For example, in 41 appearances for the North Londoners’ various junior sides over the last few years, the Welwyn Garden City-born marksman has found the back of the net 31 times and provided five assists for good measure.
Appearances
5
34
2
Goals
4
26
1
Assists
2
3
0
Goal Involvements per Match
1.2
0.85
0.50
This means that the promising teenager, who Spurs expert Jon Wenham described as “an absolute unit for his age,” is averaging a goal involvement once every 1.13 games in the academy, and while that doesn’t mean he’ll be able to do the same in the first team, it’s very promising.
Moreover, while it would be unfair for the club to expect the “powerful” forward, as dubbed by Wenham, to eventually put up the numbers Kane did, the England captain wasn’t exactly the hottest goalscorer around when he came through, scoring a total of nine goals in his 13 youth team appearances, although he did rack up nine assists to go with that as well.
Ultimately, while fans cannot and should not expect to see Lankshear tearing it up for the first team on a regular basis this year, they should be very excited about the player he could develop into in the coming years. Even if he can become half the player Kane was in North London, Postecoglou will have a serious talent on his hands.
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1 ByJack Salveson Holmes
