Portsmouth boss John Mousinho addresses Callum Lang's Fratton future after reported £1.5m Preston North End bid
The attacker has played just 11 times since February 2024 through persistent hamstring injuries
John Mousinho is adamant he wants Callum Lang to remain at Fratton Park.
And, despite reignited interest from long-term admirers Preston, Pompey’s head coach insists he’s under no pressure from the Eisner family to sell.
Lang was yesterday the subject of a reported £1.5m bid according to Football Insider, who also claim it was subsequently turned down by the Blues.
The Championship high fliers initially declared their interest in the 27-year-old in July, with Pompey at the time refusing to entertain the possibility of selling one of their star performers.
Intriguingly, the Lancashire-based club have now returned to the negotiating table, presumably convinced they can persuade the Blues - and Lang - to do business.
And Mousinho has made his transfer stance on the attacker abundantly clear.
‘I’ve got the ultimate say in everything’
He told The News: ‘I have seen the reports, but I know absolutely nothing - deliberately - for anything in terms of ins and outs over the past 24 hours due to focusing on the Watford game.
‘So I will now catch up with Rich (Hughes) and Andy (Cullen) and see what the situation is there. I have seen rumours online, but I’ve got no idea.
‘I definitely want him to stay. I’ve got the ultimate say in everything in terms of what we do in recruitment. It’s not quite as simple as that, though, so I’m not going to say he’ll stay or say let’s go and sign him, there's a lot more factors to it.
‘Just to pick one out, I am sure Eddie Howe wanted Alexander Isak to stay in the summer, but there’s quite a few factors which go into transfers.
‘Whatever everybody thinks about the owners, there’s no pressure to sell players. Callum is going to train today and we’ll go from there.’
Back in training last Monday
Lang returned to Pompey training on Monday after his latest hamstring injury.
His participation consisted of following a modified training plan, involving joining the main group’s session for around 30 per cent of training.
However, Mousinho believes it will be another three weeks before the attacker returns as the Blues bid to ease him back after suffering two hamstring injuries since August - and four in the last 11 months.
Having undergone an operation on his left hamstring in an attempt to resolve the issue, he is now sidelined after tearing his right hamstring.
It means Lang has missed 26 of Pompey’s last 41 matches through hamstring issues, much to the frustration of the club.
At the time of the latest blow, having felt the problem after the Boxing Day draw against QPR, he had scored twice in his previous three matches to recapture his form.
‘If Preston like him, there’s nothing you can do’
Now Preston, who are positioned sixth in the Championship, are pursuing the former Wigan man once more.
Mousinho added: ‘If Preston like him, they like him, there’s nothing you can do.
‘There's nothing we can do to stop Preston liking one of our players or anybody liking one of our players. It’s a nice compliment to our players and the football club.’