| Will Lankshear | |
| Full Name: | William Lankshear[1] |
| Birth Date: | 20 April 2005[2] |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Clubnumber: | 42 |
| Youthyears1: | –2021 |
| Youthclubs1: | Arsenal |
| Youthyears2: | 2021–2022 |
| Youthclubs2: | Sheffield United |
| Youthyears3: | 2022– |
| Youthclubs3: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Years1: | 2022– |
| Clubs1: | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2023– |
| Nationalteam1: | England U19 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 3 |
| Club-Update: | 00:15, 30 August 2022 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 21:42, 24 March 2024 (UTC) |
William Lankshear (born 20 April 2005) is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur as a forward.
Lankshear was at the Arsenal Academy before joining up with Sheffield United. He agreed a scholarship contract with Sheffield United in February 2021.[3] Lankshear was the top scorer in the division as he captained Sheffield United to the under-18 Professional Development League Division 2 title in 2021–22. He scored 38 goals in 48 appearances for the Sheffield United age-group teams in total. Sheffield United first team manager Paul Heckingbottom described him as having “a good gift to score goals”, and Sheffield United were ready to offer him a new contract.[4] However, amid interest from Premier League club Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur agreed to pay £2 million to Sheffield United for him on 31 August 2022,[5] with £1 million of the fee guaranteed and further payments thought to be performance-related bonuses. Some reports suggest the fee could rise to £2.5 million with Heckingbottom admitting it was “a good deal” for the youngster considering they had picked him up for free only a year previously.[6] Lankshear signed a contract with Tottenham running until the summer of 2025.[7]
On 8 October 2022, Lankshear made his debut as a substitute for Spurs' under-18s with his team 3–1 down against the Wolverhampton Wanderers youth side, and scored a quick-fire brace to level the match.[8] Lankshear paid tribute to the strength and conditioning work he had undertaken since joining Tottenham Hotspur. Playing in the UEFA Youth League against Sporting Lisbon, Lankshear scored after 46 seconds.[9]
Lankshear scored 23 goals for Tottenham's U21 team in the 2023–24 Premier League 2 season, including a brace in the 3–1 play-off final victory against Sunderland. His performances saw him named as the league's Player of the Season.[10] [11]
He scored on his debut for England U19 on 15 November 2023, in a 6–0 win over Romania U19.[12]
Lankshear has been described as a “poacher” who is “outstanding in front of goal”.[13]
Lankshear is reportedly a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, although he played at Arsenal's Hale End academy previously.[14]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur U21 | 2022–23[15] | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2023–24[16] | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Career total | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||