Report: Wigan Athletic to profit from Callum Lang's club-record Portsmouth to Preston North End move
Wigan Athletic look set to profit from Callum Lang’s deadline day switch from Pompey to Preston North End
Pompey will be passing on some of the profit from their deadline day sale of Callum Lang to Preston North End to former club Wigan Athletic.
Our sister paper, Wigan Today, are reporting the Latics had a sell-on inserted in the deal that took the forward to Fratton Park in January 2024.
That priviso was, apparently, based on any profit made by the Blues in the event of Lang leaving Fratton Park, following his £400,000 move to the south coast two years ago.
And with the 27-year-old returning to the north west with Preston North End, who forked out a club-record fee for the Liverpudlian believed to be in excess of £2m, a share of the money made on the player’s registration looks to be heading to the DW Stadium.
Indeed, according to reports, the League One outfit are due a ‘significant six-figure sum’ after their academy graduate got his wish of a move away from Pompey on the final day of the January transfer window.
The News has been unable to verify the percentage included in the initial deal or how much Wigan are due to receive.
Callum Lang returns to his north-west roots
Lang made 143 appearances for Wigan during a near eight-year stint at the club that produced 31 goals and also included loan spells at Morecambe, Oldham, Shrewsbury and Motherwell.
He joined the Blues in 2024 after just three goals in 29 appearances for the Latics in 2023-24. But bettered that with Pompey over the second half of that season, with his four strikes in 12 outings helping John Mousinho’s side lift the League One title.
A player who quickly found himself a firm favourite of the Fratton Park fan base, his 10 league goals last term contributed to the Blues retaining their Championship status.
However, hamstring injuries blighted the forward’s past 11 months at PO4 and restricted him to just 11 appearances and two goals since last February.
Despite his lack of games in recent months, Pompey were loath to losing Lang during the January transfer window. But with the player keen to return to his north-west roots, an offer above £2m was hard to turn down.
In that respect, Pompey definitely did well in their negotiations with North End. The only downside - they’ll have to share part of their proftis with Wigan.
For your next Pompey read: Defender closes in on Portsmouth exit as move progresses