'Exceptional people' - Sunderland's Adil Aouchiche makes Portsmouth verdict known following Fratton Park departure
Former Pompey loanee Adil Aouchiche has posted a thank you message to Pompey on social media following his return to parent club Sunderland
Kusini Yengi isn’t the only ex-Pompey player capable of waxing lyrical about the club on social media.
Indeed, it appears the Fratton Park outfit made just as much of an impact on loanee Adil Aouchiche, who has also opted to share his gratitude to the Blues online.
The Sunderland forward’s time at PO4 was a lot briefer than Yengi’s, with the 22-year-old arriving on the south coast in a deal until the end of the season at the beginning of February.
The move was aimed to bolster Pompey’s attacking options as they sought extra firepower to keep them in the Championship. It was also designed to hand the Frenchman much-needed game time after he fell down the pecking order at the newly-promoted Premier League Black Cats.
In the end, Aouchiche featured 12 times for John Mousinho’s men and scored once as they retained their second-tier status for another year.
A wrist injury picked up in the 5-3 demolition of Norwich at Carrow Road on Good Friday prevented the attacking midfielder from adding to his Pompey appearances.
Yet Aouchiche clearly appreciated his move to Fratton Park - particularly if his under-the-radar recent post on Instagram is anything to go by.
What Adil Aouchiche said following his Pompey departure
Like Yengi, Aouchiche admitted he was ‘proud’ to have represented the club and thanked everyone who made his time at the Blues so special.
Following his return to the Stadium of Light, Aouchiche wrote: ‘Exceptional people, historic club, electric atmosphere… Incredible fans. Thank you for the trust and support. Proud to have worn these colors and helped achieve the club’s goals.’
In response to his post, former Pompey team-mates who liked or responded to the message included Ibane Bowat, Christian Saydee, Hayden Matthews, Josh Murphy, Marlon Pack, Terry Devlin and, of course, Yengi.
Adil Aouchiche faces uncertain future at Sunderland
Aouchiche has returned to Sunderland not knowing what the future really holds for him on Wearside.
After arriving on a five-year contract from Lorient in 2023, he made 28 Championship appearances for the Black Cats during his maiden season in English football.
Yet, following Regis le Bris’ appointment as boss in June 2024 he found first-team opportunities hard to come by and was restricted to just eight Sunderland appearances in the first half of their promotion-winning campaign.
One of those outings came in the Black Cats’ Championship win over Pompey on January 5 - an appearance that helped secure his loan move to Fratton Park.
With Sunderland back in the Premier League following their play-off final victory over Sheffield United, it’s unlikely Aouchiche will get too many opportunities to build on his 38 appearances for the club next season.
John Mousinho on Adil Aouchiche
The Frenchman reserved his best performance for Pompey in their pre-Easter hamering of Norwich at Carrow Road.
Speaking after that game, Mousinho told The News: ‘It was Adil’s best game for us by a long way, I thought he was excellent.
‘He put both bits together. What we’ve seen with Adil is a huge amount of work-rate, which is maybe slightly surprising to some.
‘We knew we were going to get the work-rate, but we’ve got this technical 10 coming in from Sunderland and some from the outside may not have expected that.
‘He hasn’t quite put together both the work-rate and the quality on the ball. Maybe there have been a couple of games, particularly against QPR in the second half - and he did it against Norwich.
‘He showed that quality on the ball, coming out of tight areas, his work-rate was constant, he was dead on his feet at the end. His numbers were through the roof, but he also gave that edge on the ball.
‘Hopefully it will boost his confidence going forward. He’s a confident young lad anyway, he’s been in and out of the side, and we felt it was the right thing to do to bring him back on Friday. I thought he was great.’
For your next Pompey read: 'It is with a heavy heart...' - Classy Kusini Yengi pens heartfelt goodbye message to Pompey