Will Lankshear's blistering start to the season at Middlesbrough has reignited talk of a possible return to Tottenham Hotspur, the club that sold him during the summer transfer window but inserted contractual safeguards that could yet bring him back to north London.

The 21-year-old striker has reached double figures for goals across all competitions by mid-October, a tally matched in England's top four divisions only by Manchester City's Erling Haaland. It is a remarkable surge in form for a player who left Tottenham's academy only a few months ago, and one that is now playing a significant role in Middlesbrough's push for promotion from the Championship.

Lankshear's emergence comes at a notable moment for Tottenham, whose profligacy in front of goal was again exposed in their most recent Premier League outing. While Spurs struggled to convert chances at the top level, the striker they let go was busy finding the net at the other end of the football pyramid, scoring freely for his new club including in fixtures not traditionally associated with free-flowing attacking football.

Despite his departure, Tottenham never fully severed ties with the forward. During the summer window, the north London club prioritised generating revenue from academy sales, but for players they considered to have genuine long-term potential, they built in protective clauses designed to retain some influence over their futures. Lankshear was one of several such cases, alongside defender Ashley Phillips, who also moved to Middlesbrough, and winger Tynan Thompson, who joined Manchester United.

For both Lankshear and Phillips, Tottenham secured matching rights as part of the sale agreements. This means that should Middlesbrough agree to sell either player in the future, Spurs will have the opportunity to match the accepted offer and will be given priority over any other interested club in negotiating a deal to bring them back.

The clause effectively gives Tottenham first refusal on two players they clearly rated highly enough not to let go of entirely, even while cashing in on them in the short term. Lankshear's rapid development suggests that mechanism could soon become relevant, particularly if his scoring form continues at anything like its current pace through the remainder of the season.

Even in the event that Tottenham choose not to exercise their matching rights, they are not without further financial interest in the player's career. The club negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause covering any future transfer of Lankshear away from Middlesbrough, ensuring that regardless of whether he returns to Tottenham, the club stands to benefit significantly should he move on to another side down the line.

For now, the England youth international's focus remains on helping Middlesbrough climb the Championship table, with his goals proving central to their ambitions of a swift return to the Premier League. But the structure of his departure from Tottenham means that every goal he scores only heightens the intrigue around a potential reunion, with Spurs retaining both the legal mechanism and the financial incentive to monitor his progress closely.

Whether Tottenham ultimately choose to bring Lankshear back remains to be seen, but his current scoring rate ensures his old club will be paying close attention to his development for the remainder of the campaign and beyond.

Based on reporting from Standard Football.