He's hardly ever played there. Dembele recently admitted it was a newer position for him. Even when he did start there the handful of times under Sherwood, AVB and Poch, he ends up being a victim of his power/versatility because subs usually means he's put back into a DM role mid game. This happened again on the weekend.
The few (partial) games he has played further forward, he's always played well. He's never been a weak link.
I can't understand why you would watch what happened when Lamela was put there in the second half..along with the aftermath...That you would not imagine Dembele having a strong year there? The first half was proof positive that he is a rock on the right. We were so creative/solid with him pulling the strings with more power.
http://www.thetottenhamway.com/2015...about-leaving-midfielder-committed-to-spurs/?
“I never thought about leaving” – midfielder committed to Spurs
Dembele has been linked with a move away from Spurs this summer – understandable given that he started just one of the final 12 league games last season, the final day victory over Everton – but he says he never thought about leaving the Lane.
“Everybody speculated about [my future] because in the past I played quite a lot and then last year I didn’t play as much, so people are going to speculate – that’s the job of the press,” he told
journalist Ben Pearce.
“But I never thought about leaving to be honest, even last year when it wasn’t perfect. I want to fight for my place and I want to be important for this club because I like to be here.
“I did a full pre-season, I’m happy about that. I’m happy that now the manager has given me confidence – I don’t know why now yes and last year no. But I’m not a player who tries to think a lot, to tire myself out.”
Speaking about his new role in the team, Dembele said he hoped to influence proceedings in an attacking way.
“It’s a new position for me. I try to think a lot about what I can do better. I think in an attacking role I can be more dangerous and get more shots off. I’ve started thinking about that a lot and if the manager gives me a chance to play a lot in this position I will try to do better and better and be more dangerous in an attacking way.
“In the past, at Alkmaar in Holland, I played on the right wing as well, and I did the same role as here. It’s not really a wing position, you’re coming inside so it’s more of a right midfielder, so I like this position as well.”