Mauricio Pochettino believes Mousa Dembele can be effective for Tottenham in his new role on the right flank.

The enigmatic Dembele has been used in front of the back four and as a No10 since his arrival from Fulham in 2012 but has struggled to make full use of his qualities and was out of favour in the final months of the last campaign.

Pochettino said last week that he and his coaching staff “need to try to find the best position for him”, and he has deployed the midfielder on the right side of the front four in pre-season and in Saturday’s Premier League opener at Manchester United.

Asked if Dembele is likely to stay in that role, the head coach said: “It is a good position for him because he has the quality to play wide and go inside. The way we played at United, I was very happy with his performance.

“I think he is a very good player and needs to show more consistency during the season. Our job is to provide the good tools to improve his game and [help him to] be an important player for us.

“For me the position is not important – it is how we play. Mousa can play in different positions on the pitch and this is one of the positions that maybe he can play in the future too.”

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