Portsmouth transfer admission made following 'seven-figure' approach for player in summer transfer window

Rich Hughes has admitted Pompey ‘turned down a seven-figure’ bid for one of their players during the summer transfer window.

The Blues’ sporting director disclosed the information after being questioned about the club’s player trading model at the latest Tony Goodall Fans’ Conference.

During the summer, both Callum Lang and Josh Murphy were linked with high-profile exits away from Fratton Park.

Lang was the reported subject of a failed £2m bid from Championship rivals Preston North End in July. Meanwhile, Leciester City were told Josh Murphy was not for sale after they came calling in the final days of the transfer window.

The latter has since signed a new contract with the PO4 outfit that will keep him on the south coast until the summer of 2028. But with the winger arriving at Pompey on a free transfer from Oxford United in 2024, it’s unlikely he was the player Hughes was making reference to, having also stated the offer was ‘significantly in excess of what we paid for the player’.

That puts the spotlight back on Lang, who arrived from Wigan for an undisclosed fee during the 2024 January transfer window.

The Liverpudlian has proven to be a hugely-successful acquistion with 16 goals coming in his 52 appearances to date.

With that in mind, it was no surprise to see the 27-year-old linked with a big-money move away following his impact at Fratton Park. But with the Blues possessing a number of prized assets, there’s no guarantee he was the player Hughes was referring to at the December 12 event.

What has been said previously about PNE’s reported interest in Lang

Hughes was being quizzed on Pompey’s transfer approach when he made the remark.

After being asked questions about the Blues’ summer recruitment, their policy of signing up-and-coming players, and the playing budget, he was asked how close is the player trading model was to delivering players the club can sell for a few million pounds?

In response, Hughes said: ‘We are getting closer. We’ve not reached a highly-established level yet, but we sold three players in the summer for combined profit over what we bought them for.

‘We also turned down a seven-figure sum this summer, significantly in excess of what we paid for the player.

‘What’s paramount to the process is to bring in players at the right value who will grow. We looked at our recent signings – of the players we’ve spent over £100,000 on, the average age is 22.

‘Since I’ve been at the football club, we’ve been trying to stimulate the model. We need patience with the academy, but there are signs that the players we’ve got coming through will be able to be part of the future of the football club.

‘Toby Steward is having a great loan, Tayo Singerr is scoring a lot of goals at non-league level and Ashton Sizer has been on the bench for us a few times. Greg Miller has been at the club over 4 years now, and we’re starting to see the fruits of his work.’

What was said about Lang following

Both head coach John Mousinho and chief executive Andy Cullen insisted during the summer that Lang wasn’t available for transfer.

In September, Hughes followed that up by saying: ‘People draw a connection between the geographical side of Callum’s background being from the north-west.

‘I think there probably was some interest from Preston, but it never manifested itself into an official bid and, until there is a decision to be made, there is no decision to be had.

‘We never got asked the question, so we were never in a position to look to sell the player or to move him on.

‘A big part of our thinking this summer was to get stronger and I don’t think there’s a scenario when you talk about Josh Murphy and Callum Lang leaving the football club where you get stronger.’

Lang is out of contract at Pompey at the end of the season. However, the Blues have the option to extend his current deal for another 12 months.

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