Newcastle United is monitoring Middlesbrough striker Will Lankshear after the 21-year-old produced one of the strongest starts to the season anywhere in English football.
talkSPORT reported that Newcastle representatives were due to attend Middlesbrough’s midweek game against Wrexham to watch Lankshear, although the forward ultimately missed the match through injury.
“Newcastle are reportedly monitoring the progress of Will Lankshear following the striker’s sensational form at Middlesbrough,” Martha
Riley reported. “Lankshear has proven a huge success since his arrival from Tottenham for an initial £10million and ranks top of the Championship goalscoring charts.”
Lankshear has scored 13 goals in 13 Championship appearances and 15 in 16 games across all competitions since joining Middlesbrough from Tottenham last summer.
His production represents the best start to a season by a Middlesbrough player since George Camsell in 1926 and was strong enough to earn him a place on England’s preliminary 55-man squad for the ongoing international window, although the injury prevented him from making the final selection.
Newcastle’s interest comes as the club continues assessing attacking options after spending heavily on forwards over the past two transfer windows but getting minimal production from all of them combined.
Lankshear would represent a younger option with significant upside rather than an established Premier League scorer, and his production is already undeniable.
The striker also has previous Premier League experience with Spurs and scored 11 league goals while on loan at Oxford United last season.
Any deal would be difficult, however. Middlesbrough signed Lankshear to a five-year contract and is competing for promotion, although talkSPORT reported that Tottenham did not include a buy-back clause when sanctioning his sale.
Would Lankshear be worth pursuing despite Middlesbrough’s promotion push, or should Newcastle target a more experienced striker? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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