The 19-year-old Tottenham forward is out on loan at Portsmouth this season and has featured 37 times in all competitions for Pompey.
Scarlett quickly established himself as a regular in Portsmouth’s starting line-up, but his decline in form saw him lose his regular spot for the League One outfit.
Mousinho has used Scarlett, who is a centre forward, as a left winger in recent matches, which the Portsmouth boss believes has helped the Tottenham loanee affect games.
The Pompey boss pointed out that if Scarlett wants to play for Tottenham in the future, then he will need to change his position to add flexibility to his game like modern centre-forwards.
“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”, Mousinho told The News.
“He scored that all-important goal against Burton, while came on against Bolton and made a real difference, playing just behind Colby [Bishop].
“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.”
Mousinho also cited Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford’s example of changing his position to suit his game and believes that Scarlett would benefit from being positionally flexible.
“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”, he added.
“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.”
Scarlett has not featured for Portsmouth in their last two league games and he will be eyeing a spot in Mousinho’s starting line-up against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.
