WHILST HE FAILED TO CLAIM ANY SILVERWARE IN NORTH LONDON, STRIKER HARRY KANE WILL ARGUABLY GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE BEST EVER PLAYERS TO REPRESENT THE LILYWHITES.
THE 32-YEAR-OLD POSTED AN INCREDIBLE TALLY OF 280 GOALS DURING HIS DECADE IN THE FIRST-TEAM SQUAD, OFTEN BEING THE GO-TO PLAYER IN TERMS OF PRODUCING THE GOODS WITHIN ATTACKING AREAS. HIS SUBSEQUENT TALLY SAW HIM OVERTAKE JIMMY GREAVES IN THE CLUB’S HISTORY BOOKS, BECOMING THE LILYWHITES’ ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER IN THE LEAGUE AND ALL COMPETITIONS.
HOWEVER, HIS DEPARTURE IN 2023 HAS LEFT A HUGE HOLE AT THE TOP END OF THE PITCH, WITH THOMAS FRANK YET TO FIND A SUITABLE SUCCESSOR DURING THE EARLY MONTHS OF HIS TENURE.
WHAT FRANK HAS MADE OF RICHARLISON IN 2025/26
WITH DOMINIC SOLANKE’S INJURY ISSUES COMING BACK TO BITE HIM IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE 2025/26 CAMPAIGN, NEW BOSS FRANK HAS HAD TO RELY UPON RICHARLISON TO PROVIDE THE GOODS IN THE FINAL THIRD.
THE BRAZILIAN LOOKED SET TO DEPART TO JOIN GALATASARAY DURING THE SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW, BUT THE DANE’S ARRIVAL SEEMINGLY GAVE THE FORWARD A NEW LEASE OF LIFE IN NORTH LONDON. HE NETTED TWICE ON THE OPENING DAY AGAINST BURNLEY, ALSO SCORING AGAINST BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION – BUT HAS COME UNDER FIRE IN RECENT WEEKS AMID HIS LACK OF IMPACT.
THE 28-YEAR-OLD HAS NOW FAILED TO SCORE IN ANY OF HIS LAST FOUR OUTINGS FOR THE LILYWHITES, WHICH HAS LED TO CRITICISM FROM THE FANBASE OVER HIS LONG-TERM FUTURE AT THE CLUB. HOWEVER, FRANK HIMSELF HAS PREVIOUSLY SPOKEN ABOUT RICHARLISON’S IMPACT, OFFERING A GLOWING REVIEW OF THE FORWARD AND PRAISING HIM FOR HIS FORM SINCE TAKING THE REINS.
IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, THE DANE STATED: “RIGHT NOW HE’S MY STARTING NINE, HE’S SCORED SOME FANTASTIC GOALS. HE IS A VERY GOOD PLAYER, AND I’M VERY HAPPY WITH HIM.”
DESPITE THE PRAISE, RUMOURS HAVE ALSO BEEN SWIRLING AROUND HIS FUTURE, POTENTIALLY SEEING HIM MOVE TO THE MLS TO JOIN ORLANDO CITY IN THE UPCOMING TRANSFER WINDOW.
THERE’S NO DENYING THAT THE HIERARCHY WILL BE TARGETING REINFORCEMENTS IN SUCH AN AREA IN THE DISTANT FUTURE, BUT THEY COULD SAVE THEMSELVES MILLIONS BY UNLEASHING ONE PLAYER WITHIN THEIR RANKS.
THE SPURS STAR WHO COULD BE A HARRY KANE REGEN
WHOEVER FILLS THE VOID FOR SPURS IN THE CENTRE-FORWARD POSITION WILL HAVE HUGE EXPECTATIONS PLACED UPON THEM, MAINLY DUE TO THE IMPACT PRODUCED BY KANE. LOSING A WORLD-CLASS LEVEL TALENT IS ALWAYS GOING TO PROVIDE A NEAR-IMPOSSIBLE TASK OF REPLACING HIM, AS SEEN BY THE LILYWHITES’ ATTEMPTS IN RECENT YEARS SINCE HIS DEPARTURE.
GIVEN SOLANKE’S RECENT ISSUES WITH FITNESS AND RICHARLISON’S INABILITY TO PROVIDE THE GOODS ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, A SOLUTION DESPERATELY NEEDS TO BE FOUND IF THE MANAGER IS TO BE A SUCCESS IN THE ROLE. HOWEVER, THE £110M SPENDING SPREE THIS SUMMER MAY HAVE A BEARING ON THE LEVELS OF FUNDS AVAILABLE NEXT YEAR, WITH THE MANAGER NEEDING TO CONSIDER UTILISING WILL LANKSHEAR.
THE 20-YEAR-OLD IS A PRODUCT OF THE LILYWHITES’ ACADEMY, JUST LIKE KANE, BUT THE SIMILARITIES GO DEEPER THAN JUST HIS ROUTE TO BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL. HE WAS SENT ON HIS FIRST LOAN SPELL LAST CAMPAIGN, SUBSEQUENTLY JOINING WEST BROM IN JANUARY, BUT WAS UNABLE TO MAKE THE DESIRED IMPACT AFTER FAILING TO FIND THE NET IN HIS 11 OUTINGS.
KANE SUFFERED A SIMILAR FATE BACK IN 2010/11, WITH THE ENGLISHMAN STRUGGLING TO SET THE WORLD ALIGHT DURING HIS FIRST LOAN SPELL AT LEYTON ORIENT IN LEAGUE ONE. HOWEVER, LANKSHEAR HAS SEEMINGLY IMPRESSED IN ENGLAND’S SECOND TIER SO FAR THIS SEASON, ALREADY NETTING THREE TIMES IN HIS NINE OUTINGS FOR OXFORD UNITED.
SUCH FORM HAS SEEN THE FORWARD BE LABELLED A “HARRY KANE REGEN” BY ONE ANALYST, FURTHER HIGHLIGHTING THE HUGE POTENTIAL HE POSSESSES AT PRESENT. THERE’S NO DISPUTING THAT LANKSHEAR WILL NEED TO MAKE A HUGE JUMP BETWEEN STARING FOR OXFORD AND THE LILYWHITES, BUT IT’S SOMETHING THAT KANE MANAGED TO DO UPON HIS BREAK INTO THE SQUAD.
SUCH A MOVE WON’T BE THE SUPPORTERS’ MAIN ONE, BUT IT’S A COST-EFFECTIVE OPTION THAT COULD CERTAINLY MAKE THE CLUB MILLIONS SHOULD HE REACH THE LEVELS ACHIEVED BY HIS COMPATRIOT. AS FOR RICHARLISON, IF THE YOUNGSTER MANAGES TO CEMENT HIS PLACE WITHIN THE FIRST-TEAM RANKS, IT COULD CERTAINLY SPELL THE END FOR HIM IN NORTH LONDON DESPITE THE MANAGER’S HEFTY RECENT PRAISE.
