Reported £2m Preston North End target Callum Lang returns for Portsmouth in latest pre-season friendly
Preston North End were linked with a failed £2m bid for Portsmouth forward Callum Lang last weekend
Reported Preston North End target Callum Lang has been named in Portsmouth’s starting XI for their pre-season trip to League One Reading today.
Last weekend, the forward was at the centre of intense transfer speculation, with Football League World claiming the Lilywhites had a £2m bid for the former Wigan man had been turned down by the Fratton Park side.
The rumours intensified when the 26-year-old failed to feature for the south coast side in their behind-closed-doors win against Crawley the same day, only for it to emerge that the Liverpudlian was still recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in training.
Both Preston North End and Pompey did their best to distance themselves from the speculation without confirming or denying the reports, with both PNE’s Peter Ridsdale and Blues chief executive Andy Cullencoming out and speaking on the matter.
Portsmouth remain in the position where they don’t want to sell a player who played a key role in their promotion to the Championship in 2023-24 - certainly for the fee mentioned.
Now they’ve demonstrated that Lang remains part of their plans, with the energetic frontman included in their starting XI for today’s trip to the Leasing Car Select Stadium.
Since last Saturday’s report emerged, PNE have further strengthened their attacking ranks with the free transfer arrival of Michael Smith from Sheffield Wedneday.
The centre-forward has been named in Paul Heckingbottom’s Lilywhites team for their pre-season game against Bolton Wanderers at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
Among the substitutes for the game is centre-back Andrija Vukčević - who signed a three-year deal with the Deepdale side following a successful trial with the club.
Peter Ridsdale on the Callum Lang rumours
When asked by the LEP for a response to the Callum Lang rumours, Ridsdale said: “I can't comment on any player at another football club who's contracted, can I?
“I mean, I don't know where that came from. There are a number of strikers that we have enquired about over the last few weeks. I’ve given an indicative view of our value of those I've enquired about, and to the extent that some of those we've enquired about haven't joined us, we haven't finished yet.”
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