Will Lankshear has made a stunning start to his Middlesbrough career but those who know him think this is just the start. A future \u00a3100m striker? The next Harry Kane? Adam Bate speaks to his coaches to find out more about the former Tottenham forward…<\/p>\n
"A lot of people questioned it," Scott Chickelday tells Sky Sports. "Those same people are now looking at it and thinking, hang on, we might have got a bit of a bargain here." Such has been the start that Will Lankshear has made to his Middlesbrough career.<\/p>\n
Boro paid a fee that could rise to \u00a320m to sign the young striker from Tottenham Hotspur and have been rewarded with a volleyed winner against Wrexham on debut in the Carabao Cup and a brace to turn around their Championship opener against Lincoln.<\/p>\n
Striker coach Chickelday, who has done one-on-one finishing work with Lankshear for the past two years, is far from surprised. He works with top Premier League players but rates him as the best finisher of the lot. "He has got all the finishes in the book," Chickelday explains.<\/p>\n
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"He has got the little flicks around the corner, tap-ins, headers, volleys. Just an all-round No 9 and there are not many around at the minute. His finishing is incredible. I tell people and they laugh at me, but this boy is the closest thing I have seen to Harry Kane."<\/p>\n
It is a big claim to compare the 21-year-old hopeful to Kane, who has scored more goals for England than any man in history, the reigning holder of the European Golden Shoe. But others see it too and there are parallels in their route, trajectory and attitude.<\/p>\n
Like Kane, not all of Lankshear's loan moves away from Spurs were instant hits. A move to West Bromwich Albion ended without a goal. But things went better on a personal level at Oxford United even as the club suffered relegated from the Championship.<\/p>\n
"Oxford was a big step for Will. He had gone out on loan before and it had not quite worked out," Matt Bloomfield tells Sky Sports. Bloomfield was the man who took over as head coach of Oxford in January with the club one place off the bottom of the table.<\/p>\n
He was soon impressed by Lankshear, the young forward tasked with leading the line for a struggling side. It demanded different qualities from him. "He worked incredibly hard for us, left everything out on the pitch," says Bloomfield. The experience improved him.<\/p>\n
"With very limited senior football behind him, he just needed help to round his game off. We were out of possession a lot so it was about being in position when we won it back. We did a lot of work on his hold-up play and being a nuisance when we cleared the ball."<\/p>\n
In context, Lankshear's total of 11 goals in the Championship last season was an encouraging effort. "In a team that got relegated, that is some going," says Chickelday. "It is tough when you are down there." At Middlesbrough, he will be able to show more.<\/p>\n
"He is in a totally different environment now," agrees Bloomfield. "Middlesbrough will dominate the ball and that will suit him even more with the opportunities that they create. He is born to score goals. He is obsessed. All he wants to do is train and score."<\/p>\n
That is where those Kane comparisons return. There is that same laser-like focus on maximising his ability. "He is a lovely lad but he has got an edge to him," says his old boss. "He wants to be successful. All the top players are single-minded and driven."<\/p>\n
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