Former Tottenham striker Will Lankshear is first to be punished by new rule during Middlesbrough’s win over Wrexham

MIDDLESBROUGH new-boy Will Lankshear confessed he was clueless about the EFL’s new time-wasting rule – after becoming the first player to break it. Lankshear, who joined from Tottenham this summer in a deal that could rise to £20million, netted the only goal of Boro’s 1-0 win over Wrexham in the Carabao Cup on Friday night. Striker Will Lankshear joined Middlesbrough from Spurs this summer Credit: Alamy Lankshear scored the winner against Wrexham on his debut Credit: Getty But he then unwittingly fell foul of a recently-imposed regulation designed to crack down on players taking an age to come off when substituted. The fresh law cites that if a player takes more than ten seconds to come off when his number comes up in an EFL competition, then his replacement will only be allowed to enter the field of play at the first stoppage after a minute has elapsed. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! It is the same rule that applied in the World Cup, and it will be active in the Premier League this campaign too. Lankshear, 21, was subbed off in the 81st minute of Friday’s game at the Riverside, 20 minutes on from his spectacular, overhead-kick winner. But because he took too long to come off, thanking his applauding fans as he left the pitch, his replacement Fin Cartwright was forced to wait more than 60 seconds before being introduced. It meant Boro had to play with ten men for a short period. Lankshear’s boss Kim Hellberg appeared to be aware of the new rule as he urged his striker to speed up his exit. But Lankshear was none the wiser. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Fin Cartwright had to wait a minute to come on Credit: Shutterstock Editorial He later admitted: “I didn’t know! “I haven’t been in the referee meetings at the start of the year because I came from Tottenham. “I now know to get off the pitch a lot quicker!” Lankshear came through at Spurs but is one of many youngsters the North Londoners have sold this summer to boost their own recruitment drive. Luka Vuskovic, Tynan Thompson, Alfie Devine and Alejo Veliz have also all been shown the door, raising close to £100m. Centre-back Ashley Phillips, 21, is set to make the same move as Lankshear when he completes a deal worth £7m plus add-ons from Spurs to Boro. The Championship season does not kick off until next weekend but the first round of the Carabao Cup is taking place over this weekend. Comment now