Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has told Tottenham loanee Dane Scarlett, that he needs to adapt his game if he wants to break through at Spurs.
Scarlett joined Pompey on loan from the London club in the summer. Since his move he has made 37 appearances and scored six goals for the League One side. But since the new boss came in, the young striker has found game time hard to come by making just three starts since the arrival of Mousinho.
The Pompey boss has now come out and said that Scarlett should focus on adapting his game if he wants to become a regular starter for Spurs. If Scarlett wishes to take that number nine shirt at the North London side, he’ll have to go toe to toe with Harry Kane.
Harry Kane is not only Tottenham’s leading goal scorer, but he recently became his countries leading goal scorer of all-time.
Mouhinso also states that this is a vital part of the modern game for young strikers, being able to adapt and play on the wings as well as playing as the main man through the middle.
The 19-year-old already has a handful of appearances for Spurs, but has found most of his first team game time during his loan spell at Pompey.
Speaking with The News here’s what Mousinho had to say on the young man. “Dane definitely has a future playing off one of the wings. He’s probably been one of the victims of shape since I’ve come in and played one up top, with Colby (Bishop) taking to that position and being brilliant.
“As a number nine, Dane has clearly had limited opportunities and, when he has played in our side, it has been off the left and he’s affected games.
“He scored that all-important goal against Burton, while came on against Bolton and made a real difference, playing just behind Colby. Certainly if he wants to play for Spurs in the next year or so then it might be time to think about something other than playing as a number nine.
“That’s what Dane’s ambition should be, he should want to play for Spurs. I’ve actually watched him in Spurs’ new stadium for a Europa League game and modern centre-forwards need that flexibility.”
“One which springs to mind is Marcus Rashford, who was a centre-forward coming through the ranks and has now reinvented himself as that wide player cutting in – and still with the ability to score.”
“That’s not a like-for-like comparison, they are completely different players, but maybe that’s something for Dane to think about. I know he wants to play as that number nine, but that flexibility fitting into different formations and different sides is going to be really important for him.”
Mousinho goes on to add some praise for the young man.“He is genuinely both footed, he really is. If he has a stronger foot I would say it’s his right, and it’s the ability to cut in on that right foot and score goals which means we play him on the left.”
“He can play as a nine, just off the front man and also deeper on the left in a 4-2-3-1. It’s his first loan and he’s developing pretty well. If you were looking for development from anybody’s first loan, what Dane has produced this season to affect League One games has been brilliant.”
Writers View
You tend to find it a lot more often these days with young strikers coming through and getting pushed out to the wings. It’s a tough position to make your own especially with many teams opting to play with just the one striker.
Dane still has a lot of time ahead of him, but I have to agree with the Pompey boss, if he is to break into the Spurs first team, he needs to be able to adapt his game to fit their needs. Going toe to toe with Harry Kane isn’t going to be easy for anyone.
If Scarlett could break into the first team playing around him he may see even more success given the type of player Kane is but he certainly is an exciting talent and one to keep an eye on for the future.
