Omar Marmoush has 56 caps for Egypt, has impressed in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt and has already shown flashes of his quality at Manchester City and Tottenham.

There is a very good player in there, but Spurs are not getting the best out of him when they ask him to lead the line on his own.

Marmoush has pace, movement and the ability to carry the ball at defenders. He can make intelligent runs in behind and is capable of producing moments of real quality in the final third.

We have already seen those attributes in a Tottenham shirt, even if his performances have not always been consistent.

The problem is the role. Marmoush is not a natural central striker who can regularly receive the ball with his back to goal, hold off centre-backs and bring his teammates into play.

When he is isolated against two defenders, too much of what makes him dangerous is taken away.

That was evident at the weekend, when Marmoush struggled against Leeds to make the ball stick up front. It is not a reason to write him off. It is a reason to use him in a position that suits his strengths.

There are two ways Roberto De Zerbi can get more from the Egyptian. He can play as a second striker alongside a recognised centre-forward such as Dominic Solanke, giving him another attacker to work off and more freedom to run beyond the defence.

But in De Zerbi’s system, I believe Marmoush’s best position is on the left wing.

From there, he can attack full-backs, drive into the space between defenders and cut inside towards goal. He would also have the freedom to interchange with the central striker rather than being expected to do the hold-up work himself.

We have previously looked at how Tottenham can get much more from Marmoush, as well as the under-rated part of his game that stood out against Crystal Palace. His energy and pressing are valuable too.

Spurs have a talented forward who can become an important player; De Zerbi just needs to stop trying to turn him into a traditional number nine.

Put Marmoush on the left – especially with Mathys Tel now injured – where he can run at defenders and make things happen, and Tottenham could see a very different player.