Tottenham Hotspur waved goodbye to Harry Kane in the summer. "Please don't go", the stadium seemed to cry. The Spurs faithful ululating as their record goalscorer and arguably greatest ever player rode east toward Germany.
The allure of silverware was too great to resist for a 30-year-old striker considered among the finest of his generation but never winning more than individual accolades for club or country.
It was the end of an era that should have been so much more. Promised so much more. The halcyon days of Mauricio Pochettino's guidance took Spurs within an inch of the ultimate vanquishing of a long trophy drought in the 2019 Champions League final, losing 2-0 to Liverpool.
Further, several late-stage entries in the League Cup and some tremendous Premier League campaigns have ultimately bore no fruits, and Kane's decision was perhaps apt at this stage of his career.
Ange Postecoglou's start to life in Tottenham took a big blow when the England international opted to move to Bayern Munich in August, but Heung-min Son has performed admirably in the centre-forward position this season, scoring eight goals from nine league matches up front.
The South Korean star is not the long-term solution, but he's been sensational and been crucial to his side's resurgence since the summer, with unfortunate luck halting Spurs' table-topping position a week before the November international break.
In the long run, Postecoglou would be delighted to replicate the club's past feat in bringing a homegrown talent in Kane to the fore, and he might be able to achieve just that given the prolific exploits of Will Lankshear in Wayne Burnett's development squad.
Will Lankshear's youth statistics
Tottenham signed Lankshear from Sheffield United for around £2m last summer, with Levy and co perhaps being a little more generous than need be with the payment to blow Brentford's chances of sealing his signature out of the water.
Intriguingly, Kane was released by Arsenal's academy when a youngster before nurturing his skills throughout his formative years with Tottenham, and so too was Lankshear given the chop at Hale End Academy in 2021.
Perhaps the stars are aligning for a fortuitous replication, and if Lankshear's displays in the Premier League 2 are anything to go by, then he certainly boasts the cutting edge in front of goal to grow into a first-class striker, emulating Kane in soaring into the ascendancy with Spurs.
This season, the 18-year-old has clinched six goals and an assist from just seven matches in the league, corroborating Spurs expert John Wenham's claims that he is a "phenomenal" prospect and a "complete out-and-out finisher."
He's also been brilliant in the EFL Trophy with the U21s this term, posting two goals and an assist from only two starting appearances against League One & Two opposition, as per Sofascore.
He's been in fine fettle this year, with the strides taken after a promising maiden year only improving his chances of reaching the top, having scored five goals and supplied two assists from 13 fixtures during the 2021/22 campaign, including six direct contributions from only five appearances in the U18 Premier League.
Lankshear's decision to join Tottenham looks to have been perfect for the development of his skills and pursuit of a place in the Premier League, having also been dubbed an "absolute unit" by Wenham.
He will be confident that he can take the next step in the coming year, though he is certainly not without competition for an elusive place among the seniors…
Alejo Veliz's career so far
While Lankshear is one of the most exciting talents of his age bracket, perhaps even the most exciting attacking talent within Tottenham's ranks, he's certainly not the only exciting prodigy pushing for a place in Postecoglou's senior squad.
Jamie Donley and Dane Scarlett are a few talents on the club's books who will be confident of wedging their way into the first-team reckoning over the coming years, but Lankshear will also have to compete with a player of Alejo Veliz's ilk.
The imposing Argentinan talisman was signed from his homeland this summer, joining for a reported £13m from Rosario Central. While he has yet to make his mark at the club, making three substitute appearances in the English top-flight, he would not have been expected to cement a prominent role in the starting 11 straight away.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Aerial duels
Passing
Finishing
Headed attempts
Long shots
*Sourced via WhoScored
Last season, the 20-year-old plundered 11 goals and one assist from 23 matches in the Liga Profesional and has been hailed in the past for having the makings of a "complete" centre-forward by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Dominant in the air, the 6 foot 1 starlet ranks among the top 16% of forwards across divisions similar to the Argentina Liga Profesional over the past year for goals, the top 1% for clearances and the top 12% for aerial wins per 90, as per FBref.
His former coach, Adrian Dezotti, has been effusive in Veliz's qualities, saying: “Alejo is really intelligent but also very cunning, mischievous. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, a lot of street smarts. He’s a strategist, a quick thinker."
While such a talent might find himself competing with Lankshear for game time under Postecoglou's wing, the emergence of the pair could actually be a fruitful thing for both, with Veliz's aerial prowess and the former Sheffield United lad's innate finishing skills possibly combining to forge a deadly partnership in the future.
And given that Lankshear is also only 18-years-old, he has several years yet to hone his craft and continue his development to cement a spot in the team with regularity, and based on the current trajectory, he may well be the next thing at Tottenham.