‘I actually thought...’ - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho’s intriguing call on Swansea City loanee Florian Bianchini in Josh Murphy's absence
Florian Bianchini returned to Pompey’s starting lineup against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
John Mousinho has admitted Florian Bianchini was one of Pompey’s ‘brighter sparks’ during their defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
And the head coach has revealed Blues are working hard to improve the Swansea City loanee’s end product as he looks to establish himself on the south coast.
The 24-year-old was brought back into the starting XI against the Owls after dropping to the bench against Southampton a week prior.
His return to the side also saw him handed a place in his more natural left-wing position in the absence of Josh Murphy, who was sidelined through injury.
But on a day where there were very few positive individual performances as Pompey fell to a shock 2-0 defeat to Henrik Pedersen’s men, Mousinho revealed he was impressed with Bianchini’s display.
And the head coach is adamant the winger has shown positive signs following his summer arrival and revealed he is working hard with the Swansea loanee to improve his end product.
Pompey verdict on Florian Bianchini
He told The News: ‘I actually thought he was one of our brighter sparks in the first half.
‘He kept trying to get on the ball, he kept trying to create - sometimes it didn’t come off but he kept going through the game. It was one of those afternoons where we didn’t quite create that quality in the final third.
‘It was just a little bit of that end product really. That’s what we’re really trying to work on with Florian because he gets himself in good positions.
‘Athletically he’s very good, he works very hard but he just needs to show those final touches.
‘He started there against Oxford United so he’s played there before (in his more natural position on the left). That’s one of the positions he can play so I’ve got no doubt he’ll be able to do that again.’
After arriving on a season-long loan from Swansea in July, Bianchini has started five of Pompey’s six Championship games to date.
Despite featuring on the left wing against Oxford United, spells on the right-hand side proceeded following Callum Lang’s hamstring injury.
Josh Murphy injury latest
The French forward is yet to net for the Blues since his season-long switch in July but did create a number of good chances against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday - despite the result.
It remains to be seen whether Murphy will return to the squad for Pompey’s trip to Portman Road this weekend, where they face 17th-placed Ipswich Town.
The head coach said: ‘Yeah Murph’s okay. We’ll look for Murph to train on Friday and then make a decision on him off the back of the session on Friday.’