Dembele signed for United from Birmingham City yesterday, with his strongest playing position being as a right-footed winger cutting inside from the left.
It’s the same area of the pitch from which Murphy caused so much damage playing for the U’s last season.
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United head coach Buckingham said: “I wouldn’t go as far as saying he’s a Josh Murphy replacement, but they have very similar skillsets in the way they play.
“Dembele has done that in the Championship, and shown he can. He will bring, for me, that excitement to that role, which will complement a different type of player in Shemmy [Przemyslaw Placheta] or a Tyler Goodrham if they play out wide.”
Dembele can also play in a more central position, as a number 10 or second striker, while he has also led the line at points in his career.
Buckingham said: “He’s played in some of those roles for Birmingham last year, whether it’s the second striker or being comfortable to roll in should want to be a bit more aggressive with our full backs.
“He’s capable of doing that, and he’s got that versatility in him.”
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Discussing the addition of Dembele more generally, Buckingham said: “I’m really excited. We know how important those wings are for us, and to be able to bring someone of his calibre and quality to this club will complement what we already have.
“We went into pre-season with Owen Dale as our only winger, so to now have the likes of Siriki coming in, and to have Owen still with us, Matty Phillips, Malcolm [Ebiowei] and Shemmy, we’ve got a few options to be able to call upon.
“To attract someone of Siriki’s calibre to this club hopefully shows how far we’ve come.
“We’ve added depth and quality to our squad. We want to bring players in that have got experience at this level, and not just experience, but quality at this level.
“Siriki has certainly shown that in abundance. It’s up to him to earn his place, the same as it is with everyone. We’ve brought him here to make an impact in our starting XI.”
Buckingham added: “Most of the time when we’re making changes, it’s generally going to be across that front five, with the front three and the two underneath them.
“The way we want to play, whether it be in transition and breaking quickly, it does take a lot out of them physically, or the way we want to press can take it out of them physically.
“Having the ability and the depth in those wider areas, we’ve seen the demands of this league, and we’ve seen in our games, the ability to impact the game with subs coming off the bench.”