John Mousinho Delivers Exciting Comment On 22-Year-Old Loan Midfielder

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has commented on the progress on loanee Adil Aouchiche after his goal on Wednesday night.

Portsmouth have had an excellent few weeks that has seen them go seven points clear of the relegation zone. Pompey were very active in January and have seen those signings help them win three of their last five games.

The likes of Rob Atkinson and Isaac Hayden joined the club in January and brought a lot of Championship experience. Another signing was Adil Aouchiche, who had failed to make the grade at Sunderland despite showing glimpses of quality.

Aouchiche has impressed at Pompey though and scored his first goal on Wednesday night in the defeat to Plymouth Argyle.

Speaking after the game, head coach John Mousinho has commented on his progress while speaking to The News. He highlighted Aouchiche’s work-rate and spoke of the importance of giving him a bit of freedom.

“His numbers are outstanding and through the roof with the amount of running he does,” the Portsmouth boss said.

“I think he has loads more quality than he showed against Leeds, I wouldn’t hide from that. He has more quality than that.

“Sometimes it’s the nature of those players, they pick up pockets trying to make things happen. With Adil being a bit of a maverick, we want that from him and give him a licence to do that, take people on and make things happen. There’s definitely more to come from Adil, I’m sure we’re going to see more.”

Filling the gap left by Lang

Callum Lang was Pompey’s best player in the first 30 games of the season. When it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season, fans feared the worst.

However, this injury offered the perfect opportunity for Aouchiche to step up, and Mousinho has backed him.

His first goal was a glimpse of his quality, and it is something he needs to add to his game on a more consistent basis. There’s no doubt Aouchiche is a player of great potential, and he’ll be hoping to take strides towards fulfilling it on loan at Fratton Park.

What next for Pompey?

The defeat to Plymouth Argyle was very disappointing for Pompey, but they will want to move on quickly before the International break.

They have a chance to leapfrog their next opponents at the weekend. They head to Deepdale to face Preston North End, who drew 1-1 with Sunderland in the week.

After what went on in Preston’s game with Aouchiche’s parent club Sunderland, the Frenchman will likely have some of his teammates hoping he gets one over on Preston.