Middlesbrough fans will love what Will Lankshear has said about Kim Hellberg | OneFootball

Will Lankshear was blown away by his new Middlesbrough boss, Kim Hellberg

New Middlesbrough striker Will Lankshear has been blown away by Kim Hellberg's approach to the game and is "really excited" for the new season to begin.

Middlesbrough open their 2026/27 campaign on Friday night when they host fellow Championship big-hitter Wrexham in the first round of the EFL Cup, but the main focus this year is securing promotion to the Premier League after a decade away.

After falling in the play-off final back in May, the higher-ups at the Riverside have been hard at work to improve the squad as a whole, giving Kim Hellberg all the tools possible to go one better in the head coach's first full year in charge.

One of which involved bringing in a new starting striker, as Boro were often wasteful in critical moments towards the end of last season. Promising frontman Will Lankshear was brought in from Tottenham Hotspur in a deal which could be worth a record £20 million if all add-ons are met.

Will Lankshear blown away by Kim Hellberg in his first few weeks at Middlesbrough

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Lankshear's time at Tottenham saw him play a handful of games in the first-team squad under Ange Postecoglou before spending time on loan at West Brom and then Oxford United last season, where he scored 11 times in 44 games for the relegated side.

At 21, he's still got a lot of learning to do, though, and he's admitted that he's learned more under Kim Hellberg during his two weeks at Middlesbrough than he has in his entire career.

"I've learned as much as I have in my whole life in one week under Kim," he said, per the Northern Echo. "It's really good, really exciting. We play some really nice football, and that's on the manager.

"I was saying to one of the lads after the game on Saturday [vs Espanyol], when you do what he says, it works. I'm still learning, and I'm really excited for the season and to keep learning and listening.

"You have to really believe in your manager. For me as a player, doing what he was saying on Saturday, it really did work, and I thought we played some really good football. I'm really excited."

Will Lankshear's Kim Hellberg admission will only create more excitement over the new season at Middlesbrough

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Lankshear raving over 'Hell-ball' isn't a new admission. When Boro were firing on all cylinders last season, they were one of the most entertaining sides in the Championship.

They swept aside clubs with play-off ambitions at the time with ease, the likes of Southampton, Hull City and Preston North End en route to the Championship summit in mid-February.

And while, from that point, Boro won just four of their final 18 games, including the play-offs, their wins were still quite emphatic, putting four past QPR and five past Watford.

Not only was the focus this summer on bolstering the squad and adding more quality at the Riverside, but there was also a hope that, if some transfer pursuits didn't come off, a full pre-season under Hellberg with the remaining players would still put Middlesbrough in a good position to at least replicate last season's performances.

But that strength in depth is being added, and the new signings are buying in, which could spell danger for the rest of the Championship this season.

Will Lankshear could have a career year leading the Middlesbrough line this season

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Lankshear was reserved when asked if he had a goal target this season, saying, "I think it's dangerous to set a number now."

"I'll give it my absolute all every game to try and score. I'm confident enough in my ability that I will score goals," he added, though, and, if he continues his trajectory from last year at Oxford, there may be little stopping him.

Last season, Lankshear scored 11 goals from 58 shots for a side that created few chances and ended up being relegated to League One.

In comparison, Morgan Whittaker, Tommy Conway and David Strelec, Boro's top three scorers last season, had 100, 82 and 46 shots respectively. Attacking midfielder Riley McGree had 45 shots in just 25 Championship appearances!

Evidently, in this system, not only is Lankshear going to be given more chances to score than he did at Oxford, but you'd imagine that those chances will be a lot more high-percentage, giving him a better opportunity to find the back of the net.

If he can showcase why he is highly regarded as one of the best young English strikers in the game right now, then he could easily push 20 goals in this Boro side.

Lankshear is evidently an admirer of his new boss, and he could repay Hellberg's faith in him by being that clinical frontman they lacked last season.