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Boro paid a fee that could rise to £20m to sign the young striker from Tottenham and have been rewarded with a volleyed winner against Wrexham on debut in the Carabao Cup and a brace to turn around their Championship opener against Lincoln.

Striker coach Chickelday, who has done one-on-one finishing work with Lankshear for the past two years, is far from surprised. He works with top Premier League players but rates him as the best finisher of the lot. "He has got all the finishes in the book," Chickelday explains.

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"He has got the little flicks around the corner, tap-ins, headers, volleys. Just an all-round No 9 and there are not many around at the minute. His finishing is incredible. I tell people and they laugh at me, but this boy is the closest thing I have seen to Harry Kane."

It is a big claim to compare the 21-year-old hopeful to Kane, who has scored more goals for England than any man in history, the reigning holder of the European Golden Shoe. But others see it too and there are parallels in their route, trajectory and attitude.

Like Kane, not all of Lankshear's loan moves away from Spurs were instant hits. A move to West Brom ended without a goal. But things went better on a personal level at Oxford even as the club suffered relegation from the Championship.

"Oxford was a big step for Will. He had gone out on loan before and it had not quite worked out," Matt Bloomfield tells Sky Sports. Bloomfield was the man who took over as head coach of Oxford in January with the club one place off the bottom of the table.

He was soon impressed by Lankshear, the young forward tasked with leading the line for a struggling side. It demanded different qualities from him. "He worked incredibly hard for us, left everything out on the pitch," says Bloomfield. The experience improved him.

"With very limited senior football behind him, he just needed help to round his game off. We were out of possession a lot so it was about being in position when we won it back. We did a lot of work on his hold-up play and being a nuisance when we cleared the ball."

In context, Lankshear's total of 11 goals in the Championship last season was an encouraging effort. "In a team that got relegated, that is some going," says Chickelday. "It is tough when you are down there." At Middlesbrough, he will be able to show more.

"He is in a totally different environment now," agrees Bloomfield. "Middlesbrough will dominate the ball and that will suit him even more with the opportunities that they create. He is born to score goals. He is obsessed. All he wants to do is train and score."

That is where those Kane comparisons return. There is that same laser-like focus on maximising his ability. "He is a lovely lad but he has got an edge to him," says his old boss. "He wants to be successful. All the top players are single-minded and driven."

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Bloomfield adds: "He has a massive natural instinct but you can see the hours of practice too. It is the same with Harry Kane and his goals. It is not just natural instinct. These guys are born goalscorers but they also work so incredibly hard at their craft."

The stories from his time at Oxford illustrate this clearly. When training was over, Lankshear wanted to keep going. "He would just stay out there finishing all day. We had to push him back in the building. We had a game the next day and needed his legs."

With that in mind, Bloomfield is not surprised to discover that Lankshear has been working with a one-on-one coach to do those extras. Even Chickelday has become used to the youngster who reached out to him for help doing extras on top of the extras.

"He does not just turn up, do a session and go. He will get there 40 minutes before the session starts, do a warm up and then do the hour with me. Then they will stay for another 25 to 30 minutes doing running after the session. That shows you his mentality."

Lankshear attends these sessions alongside older brother Alex, who scored himself for Gateshead at the weekend. But what does he actually work on? "It is a lot of repetition work, match scenarios. Headers, volleys, finishes from cutbacks. All types of finishes."

Chickelday adds: "Did you see the one that he scored for Oxford from outside the box?" He is referring to the second of Lankshear's goals against Sheffield Wednesday in April. "It was the typical Kane finish where he cuts in and bends the ball into the top corner."

It is a trademark. "He likes to drift out on the left and cut inside. But whatever he can do on his right foot, he can do on his left. That is what gives him that unpredictability when he is finishing as well. He does not mind which way that the defender shows him.

"It is his ruthlessness in front of goal and his consistency in hitting the target. His shots-on-target ratio is phenomenal. In our sessions, he rarely misses the target at all. I am not saying that he is scoring with every single shot but he does work the goalkeeper."

Bloomfield's point about having the dedication to match the talent is key - and the reason why there is such excitement about Lankshear. He can score great goals but there are the near-post runs, the ones where he follows in to capitalise on a fumble.

Among the 72 players in the Championship last season who had 50 shots or more, Lankshear ranked third for expected goals per shot. Even at Oxford, he was getting high-quality chances because of the work that he was putting in. There is more to come too.

"He never gets to take them but he is a really good free-kick taker," says Chickelday. He is convinced there are great things ahead. "Sometimes you come out of the session and you are like, this one is special. You just get that feeling." But can he explain why?

"It is his mentality. He wants to be the best. He wants to be the No 1 striker in England. And then obviously he wants to be the No 1 in the world too. And I really would not be surprised in two years' time if he is Harry Kane's replacement.

"I do not want to talk about moves at the minute because Middlesbrough will probably kill me. He has only been there five minutes. But I think he is two moves away from being a £100m striker if he keeps developing and doing well - and I think he will."

That is for the future. The present is about firing Boro to the Premier League. One way or another, those who know him are certain that is where Will Lankshear is heading. "I have absolutely no doubt about that," adds Bloomfield. "Will is going to the very top."