Portsmouth ‘want new contract’ for star player in ‘cold storage’ at Fratton Park
Portsmouth currently have a big issue with contracts.
As it stands, 10 players are set to leave Fratton Park in less than 12 months.
Many of these players are key under John Mousinho’s management, with the start of the 2025/26 campaign already being a success.
As a result, there are concerns that these players may move on at the end of the season, or even in January.
This article includes exclusive comment from Premier League commentator Ian Darke.
Ian Darke: Portsmouth will want to keep Callum Lang
Callum Lang has had an awful start to the 2025/26 campaign.
The winger has only managed to get two games under his belt so far until he picked up an injury against Norwich City.
Here, the attacker was taken off, and Lang is expected to be out injured until November.
While this will no doubt be a concern for Mousinho, this could well be the winger’s last season at Fratton Park amid concerns over his long-term future.
- Lang joined Portsmouth in 2024
- The attacker proved to be vital in Pompey survival campaign last season
- Lang is currently out injured for Portsmouth
Lang is one of the 10 players who are out of contract in the summer. However, Ian Darke has exclusively told Pompey News that he cannot see Portsmouth letting the winger depart.
He said: “It is important, we don’t want to be losing any quality players.
“He delivered a fair number of goals last season – four in one game against Coventry.
“He’s out for the next two to three months with a pretty bad injury, so he is in cold storage at the moment.
“I don’t think there is any real prospect of him leaving the club now that he is injured, and he probably isn’t going to play again until December.
“He has been a successful signing and is another player Pompey will definitely want to keep.“
Callum Lang may struggle to regain spot in Portsmouth’s starting XI
As good as Lang is, when he eventually comes back from the sidelines, he may struggle to regain his spot in the team.
As it stands, Josh Murphy and Adrian Segecic are likely to remain the starting wingers for the foreseeable future, especially given their early-season form.
On top of this, there are multiple players who could be given an opportunity to shine, such as Franco Umeh and Yang Min-hyeok who have recently joined Portsmouth.
Therefore, while Pompey will be keen to see Lang return, he may have to wait until 2026 to cement his spot back in the starting XI.
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