Latest: Portsmouth turn to recruitment push as Callum Lang agrees £1.75m exit for Preston North End
The transfer latest today as Pompey push on, with Callum Lang bound for Championship rivals Preston North End.
Pompey are accelerating their late-window signing charge as Callum Lang nears his Fratton Park exit.
The News understands Lang is today close to sealing his £1.75m move to Preston North End, as revealed last night, bringing his two-year stay at PO4 to a close.
Lang to seal £1.75m Preston move as Pompey eye signings
The Lang deal gathered pace yesterday, as the Scouser cleared his locker at the club’s training ground.
The 27-year-old had already said his goodbyes to his team-mates, but with the deal not progressing as expected then remained at Pompey this week.
Now Preston look to have their man, with Lang returning to closer to his Liverpool roots as he becomes a father this year.
It means a pursuit which stretched back to last summer is set to prove successful, with Lang swapping a relegation battle for a Championship play-off push.
While there was no desire to let the Wigan arrival leave, the prospect of the attacker departing is slightly more palatable than it was last July after a season impacted by injury.
But there will be fears of Lang dolling out instant pain to his old side, as the move paves the way for his Preston debut to come up against his former employers next weekend.
Pompey now have to recalibrate and react quickly to the loss of a key operator, with three days of winter playing trading remaining.
Ingelsson, Graham and striker dominating Pompey incoming talk
The contingency plans are in place to deal with the loss of Lang, however, with work pushing on to bring in new faces.
Dundee defender Luke Graham is a target, with the SPL outfit placing a £1m-plus valuation on the centre-back.
The 21-year-old is viewed as an option who can come in and immediately make an impact at Championship level, as Pompey fight for their place in the division.
Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Svante Ingelsson is wanted at Fratton Park, with Millwall keen on landing the 27-year-old.
There are complexities to that move being completed, however, with Ingelsson needing to decide if a move from Yorkshire to the south coast is one which suits him.
Pompey are also looking for a striker before the close of play at 7pm on Monday, with four new signings through the door this month in Millenic Alli, Ebou Adams, Keshi Anderson and Aji Alese.
The Blues still have a loan space available with Alese’s capture from Sunderland making it four temporary deals, along with Alli, Florian Bianchini and Conor Chaplin.
In terms of other exits, Jacob Farrell has been given the green light to pick up some loan playing time away from Fratton Park, while Luke Le Roux is another player who could leave if interest emerges. Deregistered pair Tom McIntyre and Jordan Archer can both move on if a buyer can be found.