Oxford United head coach Aaron Ramsey says midfielder Siriki Dembele will be a 'really important' player in League One this season.
Oxford lost their first competitive fixture under former Arsenal star Ramsey last weekend, two late goal seeing them suffer a 2-0 defeat away at Leyton Orient in the Carabao Cup.
Dembele started the match at Brisbane Road and played 62 minutes, showing some flashes of skill on the ball.
The 29-year-old fell out of favour last season under former boss Matt Bloomfield and frustrated supporters, particularly given his reported club-record price tag.
However, with the U's currently under a temporary transfer embargo, Dembele has a huge opportunity to reinstate himself as a mainstay in Ramsey's team.
"He's a quality player who we admire a lot," the Yellows boss said after the Orient defeat.
"He's going to be really important for us this season.
"He is a player who's very sharp, great in 1v1 situations, and can cause confusion for defenders.
"He's a really important player. With him, he has missed a bit of pre-season, so he's just building him up as well.
"I'm glad what he got through today."
Dembele has known to frustrate in his performances at Oxford, often showing signs of brilliance but struggling for consistency and end product during the club's two-year stint in the Championship.
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The former AFC Bournemouth man arrived in OX4 from Birmingham City in the summer after the Yellows won promotion from League One via the play-offs in 2024.
Since his arrival, the midfielder has played 47 times for the club, scoring twice and managing one assist.
21 of those came last year as Dembele failed to produce any goal contributions.
Under Gary Rowett, the Scottish citizen scored two crucial winning goals in two 1-0 victories over Watford and Sheffield United respectively as the U's secured Championship survival in the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite struggling so far overall at the Kassam Stadium, there is no doubt Dembele can cause damage on his day.
In his last League One campaign, the 2020/21 season, he scored 11 goals and managed 10 assists as his former side Peterborough United topped the division.
"We're really pleased that he's on our team and causing defenders problems because you don't want to be predictable as an attacking player," Ramsey continued.
"You want to keep the defenders on their toes and guessing which way they're going to go and things like that."
Dembele came into the side in place of Stan Mills who missed out after missing a few days of training in the week leading up to the Orient defeat.
Oxford will need every squad member to play their part this season, particularly in the first six months, as they navigate the transfer embargo.
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