Will Lankshear's Stunning Debut Goal for Middlesbrough

Will Lankshear needed just one swing of his right boot to announce himself at Middlesbrough. One clean, ruthless volley and the Riverside’s newest hope looked exactly what Kim Hellberg has been craving.

The 21-year-old, signed from Tottenham Hotspur in a deal initially thought to be worth £10 million, settled a tight EFL Cup first-round tie against Wrexham with a finish that matched the price tag. On a night short of clear chances, his moment on 61 minutes was the difference.

The ball dropped, Lankshear adjusted, and the strike was pure. No fuss, no hesitation. Just a forward who knows exactly where the goal is.

“I've seen the trainings and he's the best finisher I've ever seen in terms of left foot, right foot, how hard he shoots, his headers,” the Middlesbrough head coach told BBC Radio Tees. “I'm not surprised he can do these goals.”

That is not a throwaway line. Hellberg’s side, slick in approach play last season but short of a ruthless edge, have been searching for exactly this kind of presence in the box. Lankshear’s debut suggested they may finally have found it.

This was no procession. Wrexham, who finished just two places behind Boro in the Championship last season, pushed hard and kept the tie on a knife edge. The game never quite broke open, which only magnified the quality of Lankshear’s intervention. One chance, buried. Job done.

For Middlesbrough, still nursing the scars of promotion heartache in May and bedding in new faces, this felt like a small but significant step. The performance was functional. The headline was the new No 9.

What excites Hellberg most, though, is not just the goals.

“The best thing with him is how he is as a person,” the Swede said. “How hard he works, how much he wants to learn, how quick he is to adapt. That's been absolutely brilliant.

“Add on to that, the quality he has, he's an unbelievable player and he's just going to get better.”

A £10 million striker, a debut goal, and a coach already calling him the best finisher he has seen. If Middlesbrough are to turn last season’s frustration into a serious promotion charge, nights like this – and a forward like Lankshear – will have to lead the way.