Tottenham expert slams ‘utter disaster’ transfer decision after Spurs ‘had to sacrifice’ £50m star | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur have been criticised after sanctioning Will Lankshear’s move to Championship outfit Middlesbrough in the summer.

The north London club have made a poor start to the 2026/27 campaign despite spending well over £300m on summer signings.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has been backed more than any other Tottenham manager after they narrowly avoided relegation last season.

Spurs looked to strengthen all over the pitch in the summer, but last season’s woes have carried into this campaign. They are winless in five Premier League games and have also exited the Carabao Cup.

One of Tottenham’s many issues is their lack of a goal threat, so the decision to sell 21-year-old Lankshear to Middlesbrough in the summer for £10m plus add-ons is looking foolish.

Lankshear has eight in his first eleven matches for Middlesbrough, and Tottenham ‘expert’ John Wenham believes they have had an “utter disaster” with the striker.

“It does [look silly] when you exclude Richarlison out of choice as well, because it basically means all we have got now is a Dominic Solanke that’s devoid of confidence, Mathys Tel is devoid of confidence either on the left wing or as a striker, and I think Marmoush is better suited playing as a 10 or off the wing than as a striker,” Wenham told Tottenham News.

“We have actually let go of a striker that is bang in confidence, that’s got the correct build to be a striker, especially in a De Zerbi system.

“He’s English, he supports the club, and he’s scoring goals for fun, it doesn’t just look like a mistake, it looks like an utter disaster to have moved Lankshear on.”

Tottenham have also been criticised for letting Luka Vuskovic leave to join Brighton for around £50m in the summer.

Vuskovic has been a shining light for Brighton this season, while Jan Paul van Hecke has struggled since joining Spurs from the Seagulls.

Now, former Everton CEO Keith Wyness has argued that Tottenham were forced to “sacrifice” Vuskovic due to a lack of a “succession plan”.

“It’s early days, and I think we’ve got to stress it is five games in. But there is a feeling that certainly that’s the way it’s going (Brighton better off),” Wyness told Football Insider.

“The weakness from Spurs’ point of view is that they were sacrificing a young generational talent for a 26-year-old who needed to come in because they hadn’t got the succession plan in place for stability in the defence.

“That’s where the fault lies, and it probably is the case that Brighton will have got the better of the deal.

“I think that will probably be the case as we end up at the end of the season and review it. Certainly, we’ve got to believe that’s the case right now.

“It’s the lack of succession, where we know Brighton have been superb in succession planning.

“Here is a gap where Spurs didn’t have the succession planning in place, and now they’ve been made to pay for it, and they’ve had to sacrifice a young generational talent for that.”