BREAKING: First words as Preston North End confirm Callum Lang signing from Portsmouth for 'club record'
The Portsmouth man becomes PNE’s third signing of the transfer window
Preston North End have completed the signing of Callum Lang from Portsmouth, for a ‘club record fee’.
A transfer chase that went down to the wire, the 27-year-old becomes PNE’s second deadline day addition and third recruit of the window. Lang has put pen-to-paper on a three-and-a-half year contract at Deepdale, with option for a further 12 months.
Reports from Portsmouth suggested a fee in the region of £1.75m. Pompey boss John Mousinho had made clear his wish to keep Lang and there was lots of back and forth between the Championship clubs over the last week.
But, the versatile attacker joins Paul Heckingbottom’s side on a permanent basis - and in a deal which sees Liverpool-born Lang move back up north. If fit enough to feature, his debut could come against Portsmouth this weekend at Deepdale.
Upon signing, Lang told iFollow PNE: “I’m really happy to be here. It’s been a late one, quite last-minute, but I'm really excited to get going. I think this was a good move for me. I'm really thankful for my time at Portsmouth, but I feel like this next step is the perfect one for me.
“I'm excited about what the club's trying to do here, and I think I can really help on the pitch also. I know what I can do at this level, and I'm really excited to do so and show the fans what I can bring as a player.”
“He’s scored goals wherever he’s been...”
Manager Paul Heckingbottom added: “I’m delighted. It's been a tough one to get over the line and get done. We've worked really hard to get the deal done, so delighted we could get it over the line in the end.
“He brings Championship experience; he’s scored goals wherever he's been. He is a versatile attacking player, but we're really clear about how we want to use him. Getting him in the box, being really aggressive to attack the ball and being really aggressive out of possession as well.”
Lang was under contract at Fratton Park until the summer but the club had a 12 month option to trigger. He joined Pompey from Wigan Athletic in January 2024 and scored 31 goals in 143 appearances, with 18 assists provided.
During his time at Latics, Lang had loan spells at Morecambe, Oldham, Shrewsbury and Motherwell. He follows Andrew Moran and Milos Lukovic in making the switch to North End this transfer window.
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