Why Spurs turned down Middlesbrough transfer offer in January - Ipswich Town were also keen | OneFootball

Will Lankshear could have moved to one of the promotion hopefuls in January

Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town are just two of the sides currently hoping to leave the Championship behind next season, as they are currently embroiled in a dramatic promotion race at the top end of the table.

Whilst the Tractor Boys were heavily fancied to mount a first-time promotion bid back to the top-flight under Kieran McKenna after being relegated from the Premier League, the Reds have given themselves a strong chance of ending an exile which has lasted since May 2017 as Kim Hellberg has built on the strong start made by his predecessor, Rob Edwards, who controversially departed five months ago.

Although both sides are well-placed inside the Championship's top six, their respective automatic promotion chances took hits in midweek.

Town were unable to add to the pressure placed on Boro by Millwall as they were dramatically denied a comeback victory against Stoke City on Tuesday night, thanks to Milan Smit's stoppage-time penalty in the 3-3 draw, whilst Hellberg's side have now gone three home matches without victory after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic 24 hours later.

It has been well-documented that promotion to the Premier League can drastically change any club's transfer plans due to the attraction of the division, as well as the finances on offer.

Both clubs were clearly intent on flexing their financial muscles in January to give themselves a desired advantage. But, they were unable to land the services of a highly-rated Tottenham Hotspur ace, who still remains in the second tier for the time being.

Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town saw interest in Oxford United loan ace Will Lankshear snubbed

It has been a difficult second season in the Championship for Oxford United, although three wins on the spin over West Bromwich Albion, Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers have given Matt Bloomfield's side a shot at survival.

One of the key reasons behind such a potential escape has been Will Lankshear's form on loan from the North London side, with the forward netting eight times in 35 league appearances for the Yellows thus far - including two in his last three outings.

After an underwhelming 11-game stint with the Baggies last season, clubs are now starting to be alerted to the 20-year-old's potential.

Football League World exclusively revealed earlier in the week that Middlesbrough and Wrexham are eyeing a potential move for the England youth international when the transfer window re-opens in June.

Since then, the Teesside outfit's interest has been further backed up by Football Insider, who claim that both they and Ipswich saw opportunities to sign the forward rejected, as he opted to remain at the Kassam Stadium.

It has been stated that Boro lined up an initial loan deal that could have been turned permanently through a £15m option-to-buy, but Spurs believed the best decision for his personal development was to remain in Oxfordshire.

Will Lankshear could have become Middlesbrough's joint-record signing amid failed January swoop

Despite their lofty position in the table, Middlesbrough's current striking options - Tommy Conway, David Strelec and Kaly Sene - have all been the subject of criticism at various points this season.

Adding Lankshear to those ranks would have given Hellberg a different dimension, as well as offering the striker the experience of featuring in a pressurised environment for totally different reasons to his current situation with Oxford.

It, of course, remains to be seen if the club will pursue his services in the summer, depending on circumstances. But, if the North East side were to have struck the aforementioned loan with an option-to-buy, the £15m sum would have equalled Boro's club-record buy.