Sunderland winger Adil Aouchiche may have now been given a key role in Portsmouth’s side following their recent win.
In the dying embers of the January transfer window, Sunderland and Kristjaan Speakman decided to send Aouchiche on loan to fellow Championship side Portsmouth.
Despite notching recent games for the Black Cats on the left flank, where Regis Le Bris’ depth is noticeably thin, he couldn’t be guaranteed the game time needed to progress his development, meaning that relegation-threatened Pompey sought to attain Aouchiche’s services until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Aouchiche’s game time for the Championship side has still been fairly limited since his arrival in late January, notching just 68 minutes of action for John Mousinho’s side, but the tides are potentially turning for the Frenchman, with a recent event making him much more important for Portsmouth.
Sunderland loanee Adil Aouchiche set for important role amid Portsmouth injury issues
Black Cats loanee Aouchiche’s most recent game came on Saturday, where he played 27 minutes in their 2-0 win against Oxford United.
Just four minutes into his appearance, fellow attacker Callum Lang was forced off with an injury, one of Portsmouth’s main goal outlets throughout the 2024/25 Championship season, with 10 goals, alongside two assists notched in the league campaign.
Lang looks set to need a scan ahead of what could be a lengthy setback, and because of his absence, it looks likely that Mousinho may turn towards Aouchiche for a more prominent role in the team.
Sunderland Director of Football Speakman must have ensured that Aouchiche would get the game time needed when moving to the south coast, and it looks as though this will give them that opportunity.
How one analyst described Adil Aouchiche start to life at Portsmouth
Aouchiche’s game time has been rather limited so far since his arrival, but there is plenty that he has been able to show so far donning the blue colours of Pompey.
Via X, Hancock Analysis has given his views on the French Sunderland loanee, to which he said: “Aouchiche is a proper live-wire, I really like him. Makes weird decisions sometimes, and oddly tends to take one too many touches when he attacks the byline at times. Like him though, tidy player.”
Hopefully, the Black Cats man will be given the platform, amid Lang’s injury, to truly implement consistency within his game. His raw talent is clear, and once that ability to successfully read the game at every moment eventually comes to fruition, there is no doubt that Aouchiche can become a league-leading attacker.
Aouchiche and Portsmouth will be next in action next Saturday at home to Queens Park Rangers, where the Frenchman will be hoping to claim his first start for his new side.