Will Lankshear's arrival from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer is already shaping up to be the signing that transforms Middlesbrough's promotion push. Eight goals into his Boro career, the striker has filled the void that cost the club so dearly last season, and a narrow victory over Wolves on Saturday sent Kim Hellberg's side into the Championship's top two.

The goalscorer Boro were missing

BBC Final Score pundit and former striker Sam Parkin put the significance of Lankshear's form into sharp relief. "Boro came very close last season and the one gaping hole in their squad was an out-and-out goalscorer," Parkin said. "They created so many chances, they were brilliant between both boxes, a great watch but they couldn't convert those chances."

That frustration defined Middlesbrough's campaign last time out. The chances were there; the finisher was not. Lankshear, signed on a permanent deal after impressing on loan, has changed the equation entirely. Eight goals in the early weeks of the season is the kind of return that makes already-dangerous sides genuinely dangerous, and Parkin believes it could prove pivotal. "To bring in Will Lankshear and for him to have had the start he's had could be pivotal in their push for promotion," he said.

A clean sheet that matters

The win over Wolves carried a second significance beyond the three points. Hellberg got his first-choice back four on the pitch together, and the result was a clean sheet against opponents who had been finding the net with regularity. Parkin identified that moment as a turning point. "I felt that was a real stand-out moment in the season, to keep a clean sheet against a good Wolves team because they have been conceding too many goals," he said. "So I expect them to really kick on from here."

Defensive solidity has been an intermittent feature of Boro's recent campaigns. When it combines with the sort of attacking output Lankshear provides, the picture looks considerably more threatening for the clubs around them in the table.

The Coventry comparison

Parkin drew a comparison that will resonate with Boro supporters who remember watching Coventry edge ever closer to the top flight before finally breaking through. "You look at the way Coventry were promoted last season after their brilliant finish to the previous one and I see a lot of similarities with Middlesbrough," he said, citing in particular the length of time the respective managers had been in charge as a key parallel.

For Hellberg, the game also carried an off-pitch dimension. The match was Middlesbrough's 150th fixture celebration, a milestone occasion for a club with deep roots in the division. Coming through it with a win and a clean sheet, against a side capable of hurting teams at this level, sent a message about where Boro currently stand.

Where the title race stands

Moving into the top two after the first post-international-break fixture is a statement of intent. Middlesbrough have the striker, they have the defensive shape, and they have a manager who has now had time to embed his methods. The weeks that cost the club so dearly last spring, the emotions of May's near-miss and the controversy that followed, appear to have galvanised rather than fractured the squad.

With a full winter schedule approaching, the early evidence is that Lankshear's goals and Hellberg's back four, when both are functioning together, make Middlesbrough one of the division's most complete sides. Whether they can sustain it across a gruelling Championship run-in remains the question, but right now the answers are pointing in the right direction.

Frequently asked

How many goals has Will Lankshear scored for Middlesbrough this season?
Will Lankshear has scored eight goals for Middlesbrough since joining from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window.
Where are Middlesbrough in the Championship table?
Middlesbrough moved into the top two of the Championship after their narrow win over Wolves following the October international break.
Who is Middlesbrough's manager?
Kim Hellberg is the Middlesbrough head coach. He has been in charge long enough for pundits to draw comparisons with Coventry's build-up to promotion.