Will Lankshear has arrived at Middlesbrough with a clear destination in mind, and three goals in his first two Championship appearances suggest the 21-year-old striker might just be the player to help the club get there.

A flying start at the Riverside

The forward, signed for £10m from Tottenham this summer, scored a brace in Boro's 2-1 win over Lincoln City at the weekend, including a stoppage-time winner that sent the North Stand into raptures. Combined with his debut goal, that gives him a tally that any striker would be delighted with after a fortnight in a new shirt.

It would be tempting to declare the Lankshear signing an unqualified success on the back of two matches. That would be premature. Two games is two games; the Championship has a habit of humbling players who look certain to set it alight. But the early signs are undeniably encouraging, and Middlesbrough fans have had enough false dawns to know the difference between a player who looks comfortable at this level and one who is merely riding an early wave of confidence.

Lankshear scored 12 goals on loan at Oxford last season and had a further spell at West Brom in the 2024-25 campaign, so he is not new to the rigours of second-tier football. That experience counts. A £10m striker who has already worked at this level is a markedly lower risk than one arriving from a development environment with nothing to show in the senior game.

Ambition shared across the squad

"This is the most competitive league in the world," Lankshear told BBC Radio Tees. "You have what, like 15, 16 teams trying to go for it, so you know it's going to be tough."

He is not wrong. The Championship routinely features clubs backed by parachute payments, experienced managers and squads assembled with promotion as the explicit objective. Finishing anywhere in the top six demands consistency over 46 games, not just a bright start. Boro know that more painfully than most: they reached the play-off final in May only to fall short, which means the hunger in Kim Hellberg's squad is built on recent, real disappointment rather than abstract aspiration.

Lankshear spoke candidly about what drives him and those around him. "I know my dream is to play in the Premier League one day and I know that my friends' dream is to play in the Premier League as well," he said. "But it's important not to listen to the noise and just keep on track. Keep focusing, keep coming in every single day and working hard. If you do that, you'll get rewarded."

That is a healthy attitude, and one that managers tend to value: a striker who talks about process rather than destination, about daily effort rather than trophy cabinets. Whether the consistency backs it up across a full season is the only question that matters.

What the early results mean for Boro's season

Middlesbrough are among the clubs with genuine promotion credentials, and a striker who can score goals from the off removes one of the obvious worries about a side that lost out at the penultimate hurdle last term. Goals win games in this division as surely as anywhere; a reliable finisher in form is the difference between top-two and a nerve-shredding play-off campaign.

The mood around the club appears buoyant. Lankshear described the atmosphere against Lincoln as "probably the best I've played in" and said the reaction of the supporters was "quite emotional." Those are not the words of a player going through the motions.

"I think I've found my people," he added.

Three goals in two games will not settle the promotion question. But they are the kind of start that gives a club genuine belief. For Middlesbrough, after so many near-misses, belief backed by evidence is exactly what this squad needs heading into what promises to be another gruelling second-tier campaign.

Frequently asked

How many goals has Will Lankshear scored for Middlesbrough?
Lankshear has scored three goals in his first two Championship appearances for Middlesbrough, including a brace in the 2-1 win over Lincoln City.
How much did Middlesbrough pay for Will Lankshear?
Middlesbrough signed Will Lankshear from Tottenham for a reported fee of £10m.
Did Middlesbrough reach the play-offs last season?
Yes. Middlesbrough reached the Championship play-off final in May but were ultimately eliminated at that stage, missing out on promotion to the top flight.