Swansea City's Franck Tabanou was hardly full of praise for his parent club as he moved back to France on a temporary basis.

The full-back has not made a single appearance in the Premier League since moving to the club form AS Saint-Étienne in the summer, though he did appear in two cup games.

As a result, having joined Saint-Étienne on loan for the remainder of the season, he had a few harsh words to say regarding the Swans - the second man to do so this month after Jonjo Shelvey criticised them following a permanent move to Newcastle United.

Tabanou frustrated at the Liberty

Speaking to L'Equipe after returning to his homeland, Tabanou expressed his frustration with a lack of playing time in South Wales, saying that he feels he deserved more opportunities at Swansea.

The left-back claimed he joined them "to get to the next level" and "to get [his] foot in the Premier League" before aiming "to then go higher." However, things "didn't happen the way [he] wanted."

The thing that frustrated the 26-year-old the most was that he wasn't even getting chances despite the Swans struggling. The club are threatened by relegation this season, somewhat surprisingly, and so he was expecting to be given more of a chance as a result of them trying to change their fortunes.

Tabanou's summer move has not worked out the way he expected. | Photo: Swansea City FC
Tabanou's summer move has not worked out the way he expected. | Photo: Swansea City FC

However, despite "the club [being] in a terrible situation," they did not give him his "chance," he said, adding that he "do[es] not understand" why either.

"I think, if I had stayed, my situation wouldn't have changed," he continued. "They never let me play."

The big reason Tabanou does not believe he was picked was because he didn't suit their style of play. He slated them in this sense, saying that, "tactically, they are not at the top." Instead, the players "fight until the last minute" - which is "not the way [he] play[s]."

Taylor's form key 

However, manager Alan Curtis spoke about the player's time on the bench earlier this season and said that a big reason for it was Neil Taylor's form.

He said that the left-back was his player of the season so far, and so it was little surprise that Tabanou had struggled to take that starting berth off of him.

Curtis did hint that he could try the Frenchman in an advanced wide role, having been impressed with what he saw from him in this role in France, but with the player now leaving, that cannot be experimented with.

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About the author
Ameé Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]