Let’s take a look at the last five players to be named Player of the Season in Premier League 2, a competition that pits England’s best under-21 sides against each other and provides young players with valuable experience.
Curtis Jones won the award in the 2019-20 season and has gone on to make more than 100 senior appearances for Liverpool and was named in England’s provisional squad for this summer’s European Championship. Liam Delap won it the following year and just joined Ipswich Town from Manchester City for £15million ($19.3m).
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James McAtee claimed the award in 2021-22 for helping Man City’s under-21s win the PL2 title. McAtee directly contributed to six goals in 31 top-flight appearances on loan at Sheffield United last season. Within a few months of winning the award in 2022-23, Carlos Forbswas playing for Ajax in the Europa League.
All of this evidence suggests Tottenham Hotspur possess a future star in their ranks. Will Lankshear is the latest recipient of the accolade after scoring 23 times for Tottenham Under-21s, including a brace in the PL2 play-off final against Sunderland. In total, he scored 32 goals in all competitions last season and was awarded a new contract until 2029.
Lankshear has spent the last couple of weeks training with the first team and he scored in a 5-1 victory over Hearts. The 19-year-old has done enough to secure a place in Tottenham’s squad for their pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea — all he has to do now is convince Ange Postecoglou he deserves to stay there permanently.
Lankshear grew up in St Albans, on the outskirts of north-west London. During his childhood, he would play football with his older brother Alex, now a defender at League One side Blackpool. Lankshear is a classic No 9 who takes inspiration from England’s all-time top goalscorer and former Spurs captain Harry Kane.
“It’s (Kane’s) all-round play,” he told Tottenham’s media team this month. “As a striker, I try to go in behind a little bit more as well, but I’m fascinated by his link-up play, the way he gets hold of it and moves it, and then how he gets in the box and scores goals. I try to base my game off him.”
The beginning of Lankshear’s career mirrors that of his idol — they both spent time in Arsenal’s academy before being released. Lankshear left Tottenham’s rivals when he was 15 and searched for a new club who could offer him regular game time.
GO DEEPER
Harry Kane, the Arsenal years
One source, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect relationships, close to the striker says he benefited from the “care and attention” he received during his 18 months with Sheffield United. The coaching staff there were impressed by his hard work and pushed him in training. It paid off as he scored 38 goals in 48 appearances for the under-18s and under-23s. Lankshear captained the under-18s to the Professional Development League (PDL) North title and they did not lose a single game.
Our skipper. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/yk8HBU3gb4
— Sheffield United Development (@sufcdevelopment) May 21, 2022
Lots of clubs expressed an interest in signing Lankshear, including Brentford, who agreed a deal with Sheffield United. Lankshear turned down Brentford in favour of Spurs — two years before his new team-mate Archie Gray did the exact same — and officially joined them in August 2022. Lankshear and his camp felt the facilities, support staff and structure at Spurs would give him the best chance of fulfilling his potential.
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Lankshear had an operation on his knee which forced him to miss six months of his first season at Hotspur Way. When he returned, he helped the under-21s win their first 11 games of the 2023-24 campaign. By November, he was scoring for England Under-19s in victories over Romania, Japan and Mexico.
This year, he scored an 11-minute hat-trick in a friendly against League One side Fleetwood Town. He also found the back of the net twice when the under-21s beat Enfield Town 3-2 a couple of weeks ago. Lankshear’s performances became impossible for Postecoglou to ignore and he was invited to train with the first team. Lankshear’s academy team-mates Mikey Moore, Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley have stepped up into the senior ranks too, which has helped with the transition.
Lankshear came off the bench against Hearts last week and within 10 minutes, demonstrated his quality.
Djed Spence receives the ball in the opposition’s half and plays a quick one-two with Emerson Royal…
The full-back drives forward and it is important to take note of Lankshear’s positioning. He is offside and just on the shoulder of right-sided centre-back Daniel Oyegoke…
When Spence moves closer to the penalty area, Lankshear runs in front of Oyegoke and points to where he wants the ball.
Spence obliges with a wonderful pass with the outside of his right boot that slices through a tiny gap in the defence.
Lankshear reaches the ball ahead of Oyegoke and fires a right-footed shot past Hearts keeper Zander Clark.
Lankshear nearly recorded an assist in the same game but Timo Werner’s shot from inside the box was charged down. Postecoglou was full of praise for Lankshear’s all-round display.
“He had a very good year last year, so it’s about rewarding that,” Postecoglou said. “With all the young guys it’s about the game doesn’t stand still. Whatever you did last year, it’s about coming in this year and making an impact. Our two new signings (Gray and Lucas Bergvall) are 18 so there’s a measure there for our 18-year-olds. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you get any kind of advantage, apart from the fact you are in front of us every day. (Lankshear) deserved his chance today, trained well, took his goal well and I’m pleased for him.”
You can find another example of Lankshear’s intelligent movement from the under-21s’ 2-0 victory over Fulham in April. Dante Cassanova and Rio Kyerematen exchange passes in the centre circle. Lankshear starts the move from an offside position again.
When Cassanova receives the ball back and pops it off to Nile John, Lankshear runs back onside.
John locates Kyerematen while Lankshear takes up a dangerous position in between Fulham’s centre-back Connor McAvoy and left-back Bradley Slade. He is being played onside by Fulham’s defenders on the opposite flank.
Kyerematen slides a pass into space and Lankshear slightly crouches as he starts his run, conscious of not springing forward too early and being flagged offside.
Lankshear powerfully surges away from McAvoy and Slade before slamming the ball beyond Alfie McNally.
Last November, the under-21s faced third-tier side Cambridge United in the EFL Trophy.
They are losing 2-0 when Jamie Donley receives the ball on the right wing. Donley and Lankshear want to take advantage of the huge pocket of space behind Cambridge United’s left-back.
Donley bends the ball around his team-mate George Abbott and Lankshear sets off in pursuit. Cambridge’s centre-back Mamadou Jobe has no idea of the striker’s sneaky run.
Lankshear controls the ball just outside the six-yard box but is under pressure from Jobe and goalkeeper Will Mannion.
He is forced wide but remains calm and finds the bottom corner from a tight angle. It dragged Spurs back into the game but they conceded two late goals to lose 4-1.
Richarlison is the only natural centre-forward in Tottenham’s senior squad. Son Heung-min can play through the middle but he excels at running into space behind defences, not dropping deep to link play. If Lankshear can develop his hold-up skills, he could be a useful alternative to Richarlison in cup competitions. Troy Parrott’s €8m (£6.7m; $8.7m) move to AZ Alkmaar has removed one obstacle in his path towards regular game time but he has been sharing minutes in pre-season with Alejo Veliz and Dane Scarlett.
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Tottenham’s coaching staff will need to consider if it is better for Lankshear’s development for him go out on loan. He has received interest from Championship and League One clubs and it might be more beneficial to play regularly at a lower level than sporadically for Spurs over the next 12 months. There is no need to rush, he does not turn 20 until next April, and he could return next year in a better position to make a consistent impact.
Tottenham play four more times in pre-season before starting the new Premier League campaign with a trip to Leicester City on August 19. If Lankshear impresses while he is in Japan and South Korea, he could earn a spot on the bench against Leicester and get one step closer towards making his senior debut.
(Top photo: Andrew Milligan/Getty Images)
Jay Harris reports on Tottenham Hotspur for The Athletic. He worked for Sky Sports News for four years before he joined The Athletic in 2021 and spent three seasons covering Brentford. He covered the 2022 World Cup from Qatar and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Follow Jay on Twitter @jaydmharris
