This article is part of Football FanCast's In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies...

Dennis Cirkin may not be a name familiar to many Tottenham Hotspur fans.

The 17-year-old full-back was, however, name-checked by manager Jose Mourinho last week after Ben Davies was ruled out of playing against AFC Bournemouth.

He said, per Metro: “On top of that, I couldn’t be at the game but I watched on video our youth team playing in the Champions League, and we also have Dennis [Cirkin].

“OK, he’s 17, but he’s a kid with a lot of quality, and I look forward to bringing him to train with us, and to help his development.”

What exactly does Cirkin offer?

Still a teenager, he is a natural left-back but he can also play at centre-back and on the left of midfield.

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He has made a total of 18 appearances for the U18s, scoring twice and registering one assist.

Cirkin has also played eight times for the UEFA U19s, while also stepping up five times to play with the U23s.

An England youth international too, Cirkin has won caps for the U17s and has also been called up to the U18s.

Back in 2017/18, per Spurs’ official website, the full-back scored seven goals for the U16s, underlining his ability to push forward and impact the game in the final third.

Of course, such ability could have invited comparisons with Gareth Bale but it appears that, in recent seasons, he has settled into being a more functional, natural left-back.

With Mourinho clearly aware of his talents and set to call him into the first-team squad to train, one has to imagine that Cirkin will get his chance to make his mark sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino has been urged to avoid one thing while out of work.