Leeds United were reportedly beaten by Middlesbrough in the summer race for Will Lankshear's signature.

The 21-year-old has made a sensational start to life at the Riverside Stadium, with Kim Hellberg's troops sitting top of the Championship, losing just one of their opening 12 matches in the second tier.

Netting 11 goals in 12 league appearances, Lankshear has taken to Teesside like a duck to water, steaming ahead of the other attackers in the division in the hotly-contested race for the Golden Boot award.

There was a feeling that Boro were missing that finishing touch at the top end of the pitch and the England Under-21 international has certainly provided that, using his forward instincts to sniff out chances.

During the week in which Bayern Munich star Harry Kane lifted the Balon d'Or, there is debate whether Lankshear could be the heir to the Three Lions striking throne once the Tottenham Hotspur great retires from international football.

Leeds beaten by Boro in Lankshear race?

According to the Daily Mail, there was a host of potential suitors for future England star Lankshear during the most recent summer transfer window, including from clubs on the continent.

On top of that, it is believed that Leeds were among the Premier League clubs eyeing up a swoop for the 21-year-old, who is arguably the best attacker in the Championship at the moment.

The report claims that Tottenham academy graduate Lankshear rejected the advances of the Elland Road club in order to secure a switch to Hellberg's enticing project at Middlesbrough for this term.

It is understood that the Englishman wanted guarantees of first-team playing time - something that would be harder to secure if he had switched to an established Premier League side.

Recently making a Three Lions squad, Dominic Calvert-Lewin would have been particularly difficult to displace from Daniel Farke's starting XI, with Lukas Nmecha also in the Yorkshire ranks.

Lankshear will be in the PL next season

That seems like a relatively safe assumption. Lankshear has been the standout goalscorer in the Championship so far this season for a Middlesbrough side who lead the promotion-chasing pack at the quarter-way mark.

Even should Boro capitulate once again and fail to make the top flight, the 21-year-old would surely be poached by a respectable top-flight club, with Leeds certainly falling into that category.

Unlike in previous years under Marcelo Bielsa and Sam Allardyce, the Whites are no longer a relegation candidate at the top level, instead fighting for a spot in European competition next term.