The frustration over Portsmouth's forgotten signing - and he cannot be sent back
The season-long loanee has made a Pompey squad since November 29 against Bristol City
John Mousinho is unsure when Pompey’s forgotten signing will return.
However, the Blues head coach is absolutely certain of one thing - Florian Bianchini won’t be going back to Swansea this month.
It has so far been an underwhelming season-long loan at Fratton Park, with the Frenchman struggling to impress during 11 appearances.
His last match-day involvement was as an unused substitute against Bristol City at the end of November, having not been included in any of the Blues’ last eight fixtures.
Bianchini is currently being treated for knee tendonitis, although, tellingly, barely ever raises a mention when Mousinho runs through his lengthy injury list.
But the 24-year-old still remains on the south coast - and will see out the season with the Blues.
‘We’ve got to deal with it, unfortunately’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Flo has been out on the grass running, we are still waiting to see whether it’s a return which is going to be imminent or not because he’s still managing a fair bit of pain with the knee tendon.
‘So it's a case of trying to manage that and seeing how close he is to a return. We haven’t quite got a return date on it.
‘Regardless of whether he is a loan player, it’s just frustrating if we have injuries, it’s just one of those we’ve got to deal with, unfortunately. We don’t have that option to return him.
‘I think if we get good news, he wouldn't play this month because he has been out for a while now.
‘He could potentially train, but we’re just waiting for that to settle down. It’s one of those injuries we don’t have a timescale on.’
‘We don’t have that option’
Like the loan arrangements with Minhyeok Yang and Conor Chaplin, Pompey do not have the option to end Bianchini’s Fratton Park stay at the halfway point.
Spurs subsequently brought back Yang in favour of sending him to Coventry, while Ipswich have extended their January window recall deadline for Chaplin as a precautionary measure, should they collect any more injuries.
Yet Swansea have given no indication they want Bianchini back this month, which is unsurprising considering they had been keen to offload him last summer following a disappointing maiden 2024-25 campaign.
The Frenchman was signed by the Swans on a four-year deal from Ligue 2 side Bastia in August 2024 for a reported £2m transfer fee, with much expected.
However, after 38 appearances last term, consisting of just eight league starts, and three goals, Bianchini was packed off to Fratton Park on the eve of this season.
Six Championship starts
After starting four of Pompey’s opening six Championship matches - alternating between the right and left wings - he soon found himself as a regular on Mousinho’s bench.
There was a brief return to the starting XI in November, when he lined up against Millwall and Sheffield United, but he hasn’t featured since.
In fairness, Bianchini was unable to face parent club Swansea on December 9, which explains his exclusion on that instance.
However, injury has influenced his ongoing absence in the subsequent seven matches, including Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday.