Portsmouth fans upset as another popular player leaves Fratton Park – ‘Gutted’
Portsmouth remain busy in the transfer window as the start of the Championship season edges closer.
Florian Bianchini became the fifth new arrival at Fratton Park when he agreed to a season-long loan deal on Thursday.
Pompey have also let some popular players leave the club this summer though.
Kusini Yengi, Christian Saydee and Ryley Towler all played key roles in helping the Blues get promoted to the Championship. Yet, they have all been let go to make room for John Mousinho’s new signings.
Now, another well-liked player has been shown the exit door, and some fans aren’t happy about it.
Portsmouth fans react as Paddy Lane is sold to Reading
Paddy Lane contributed 12 goals and eight assists when Portsmouth won the League One title in 2023-24.
The Northern Ireland winger made 23 appearances for Pompey in the Championship before a nasty knee injury ended his season early.
Lane had featured in Portsmouth’s pre-season friendlies after recovering from this injury, but has been deemed surplus to requirements by Mousinho.
He has been sold to Reading for an undisclosed fee. This transfer came somewhat out of the blue, and many Portsmouth fans on social media have expressed their sadness at losing their young star.
One fan said he was ‘gutted’, while others admitted it was a great signing for Reading.
https://x.com/Captain_Outram/status/1951210977615081538 https://x.com/PropPersonnel/status/1951032846631505949 https://x.com/pompeyaj1/status/1951068431932862557 https://x.com/george_wedlake/status/1951042667413971259 https://x.com/whcallum/status/1951044850377236512 https://x.com/callum49_/status/1951169980419948705 https://x.com/ajb1871/status/1951171950144839824 https://x.com/olliejoell1606/status/1951222100070449498 https://x.com/maxlewis0106/status/1951208257390878750 https://x.com/debojono/status/1951071539148828751Mousinho has to be ruthless to build a winning team on such a small budget
Lane is only 24 years old, and despite only scoring once for Portsmouth last season, it looked like he’d be given some extra chances to make an impact in the Championship.
Sadly, that won’t be the case.
Despite Portsmouth being short of wingers, Mousinho decided it would be better for both parties if Lane was sold.
| Paddy Lane Portsmouth statistics | |
| Signed | January 2023 |
| Appearances | 84 |
| Goals | 14 |
It’s a ruthless verdict, but that’s how the Pompey boss needs to go about his business with such a small transfer budget.
The fee earned by Portsmouth was undisclosed. Perhaps the fans would understand his sale more if it emerged that he was sold for a huge profit.
It would be even more understandable if another replacement is signed using the money Reading paid for him.
For now, Pompey will likely have Josh Murphy starting on the left wing with Callum Lang on the right, but if these players are unavailable, Bianchini now appears to be the only winger available as a replacement.
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