Will Lankshear named Oxford Golden Boot winner, YPOY

Oxford United's Will Lankshear celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship match at Deepdale, Preston. Picture date: Friday March 6 2026. (Photo by Gary Oakley/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images

Here’s a smidgen of good news in what’s otherwise been a pretty crappy day in Tottenham Hotspur-land. Oxford United might have been relegated from the Championship back to League One, but young Tottenham striker Will “BIG WILLY LANKS” Lankshear has had a pretty phenomenal year for them on loan. He’s earned the club’s Golden Boot award, and was named Oxford Young Player of the Year.

Oxford (obviously) were not a very good team. They played terrorist defensive football before sacking their manager midseason. They weren’t especially great after that either, but Lankshear was one of the bright spots in their season. The 21-year-old Lankshear scored a team-high 11 league goals for Oxford from an xG of 10.64, five more goals than the next closest player, and had two assists, good enough for fifth on the team. 10 of his 11 goals came from inside the box, and he proved himself adept at finding space and opportunities inside the opposition area despite Oxford being 22nd in the Championship in goals scored and 19th in xG.

Lankshear is an intelligent box striker, adept at movement, excellent at timing his runs, and pretty clinical with his finishing for a young player without any top flight experience. Oxford may have gone down while he was there, but this was a very encouraging loan for Lankshear, and it would not at all surprise me if he locks down a reserve place in Tottenham’s first team next season whether or not Spurs are relegated. But Spurs will need to invest in a couple of midfielders who know how to pass the ball first, or like Richarlison, he’ll struggle to make an impact.