Portsmouth to be ‘ultimate beneficiaries’ of Callum Lang frustration
Callum Lang will take out his frustration at his lack of recent end product in the best possible way sooner or later for Portsmouth.
The attacking midfield man has been an absolute revelation at Fratton Park this season, chiming in with 10 goals among 13 goal contributions and providing some match-winning performances at vital times.
Should Pompey complete their survival mission come May, they will in no small part have the 26-year-old to thank for his remarkable contribution in his first full season on the coast.
For whatever reason, Lang’s performance have slightly tailed off – and no-one will be more critical of it than himself. It just feels as if a prolific game is only round the corner for Pompey’s talisman.
Lang has been unstoppable at times
Lang was one of several players to arrive at Fratton Park halfway through a superb title-winning campaign in League One for Portsmouth, in January 2024.
What instantly captured the hearts of the Pompey faithful was his outrageous work-rate, the amount of ground he covered and his ability to give as good as he got physically.
The natural concern after promotion was how the squad as a whole would adapt to the Championship, and there have been stories of varying success. Some have been moved on; some impactful players of last season cannot get a game this time around.
But former Liverpool prospect Lang – who had only had one full season in the division prior to this year, scoring just once in 35 games for Wigan Athletic – has stepped up to the plate better than most, if not all, and certainly attracted attention elsewhere.
His two goals on the opening weekend at Leeds United set the tone; the springboard for confidence has reaped another eight goals and three assists – no-one will forget the four-goal haul against Coventry City (21 December) which has a case to be one of the greatest-ever individual Championship performances.
Lang belongs at this level. He is entering his prime years, and he has 18 months left on a Portsmouth contract that really should be a priority to be extended by the board. He loves playing for Pompey, and the Blues need to maximise every inch of that desire.
Portsmouth need their number 49
The universal chant about a player looking good, looking fine, and being their club’s number nine is old news. Lang is Pompey’s ‘forty-nine’, and has heard his name consistently bellowed from all four sides of Fratton Park as well as the travelling away crowds all season.
That has been a result of his displays on the pitch and while his work-rate remains tremendous, he has now registered just a goal and an assist apiece in his last 12. It’s testament to what else he brings the team that he is rarely brought off and certainly never before the last 10-15 minutes.
Lang’s standards in his own mind will have risen with how well he has adapted back to the Championship, a division he struggled in previously in his Wigan days. That frustration will sooner or later reach a boiling point.
Such is the immaculate professionalism and energetic enthusiasm of the versatile forward, there is no doubt it’ll be getting channelled in the best possible way for Pompey – and that could well be a devastating performance against Oxford United on Saturday at the Kassam Stadium (15 February). Ultimately, Portsmouth will eventually be the ultimate beneficiaries of Lang’s frustration.