Portsmouth in negotiations with League One rivals to sign international winger | OneFootball

Portsmouth are aiming to complete a deal for Fleetwood Town winger Paddy Lane before the 11pm transfer deadline, according to Mike McGrath of The Telegraph.

Pompey are in the market to strengthen their squad significantly for the final few months of the season and beyond, with Manchester United defender Di’Shon Bernard and Exeter City attacker Jevani Brown also linked with switches to Fratton Park.

And they have now identified Lane as a potential signing to bolster John Mousinho’s options in the wide areas of the pitch.

Lane arrived at Portsmouth’s League One rivals Fleetwood from non-league Hyde United in 2021, and in his debut season with the Cod Army scored five goals and assisted eight times in 37 third tier outings, subsequently earning the division’s Young Player of the Year award.

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The two-cap Northern Ireland international has found life slightly more difficult under new head coach Scott Brown, scoring just one in 20 League One appearances, with just 10 of them being starts.

Lane’s potential arrival could signal the end of Reeco Hackett-Fairchild’s time at Pompey, with both Cambridge United and Lincoln City linked with deadline day moves for his services.

The Verdict

Whilst Lane hasn’t had the most productive of seasons and doesn’t seem to be fully fancied by Scott Brown, there’s no denying the technical ability he possesses.

The fact he won League One’s Young Player of the Year last season ahead of other talents shows what raw abilities he possesses, but it just all needs to be channeled and he needs to be in the right environment.

New Pompey head coach Mousinho wants to play attacking football at Fratton Park and Lane’s desire to create chances and get at full-backs make him a desirable player.

You can imagine though that it will take a decent fee to prize the Northern Ireland international away from Highbury though, so if Portsmouth are going to splash out on Lane then he will surely be in and around the starting 11 immediately, regardless of this season’s form.