Wigan Athletic may have handed Portsmouth FC a signing to remember: View | OneFootball

Callum Lang stole the show against Leeds United on the opening day, and could be a key player for Pompey in the future

Callum Lang has made a flying start to life with Portsmouth, and even though it is early days, the playmaker could prove to be a superb bit of business by the south coast side in the years to come.

The attacker made the move to Fratton Park in January, and helped John Mousinho’s side claim the League One title in the previous campaign, with four goals in 12 league appearances.

And after 90 minutes of the new Championship season, the 25-year-old has already made a name for himself in the second tier, with an eye-catching brace against Leeds United to earn his side a 3-3 draw on the opening day at Elland Road.

It may be early days, but Pompey fans will already want to sign their talent down to a longer contract than the two-and-a-half year deal he signed earlier this year, as he looks to make the step up to the highest rung of the EFL.

Callum Lang steals the show at Elland Road after Leeds United brace

Portsmouth’s 2024/25 campaign hadn’t even reached 45 minutes when Lang made his presence felt on the biggest stage, with one of the goals of the day against one of the pre-season title favourites on their own patch.

After Pascal Struijk had given Leeds the lead, Pompey drew themselves level through Elias Sorensen midway through the first stanza, before Lang stole the show with a thunderbolt from all of 25 yards.

His arrow into the corner of the net left Illan Meslier with no chance, and sent the travelling fans into raptures in Yorkshire, as they went into the break level.

Willie Gnonto’s equaliser within seconds of the restart once again levelled the scores, before Lang once again had his moment to shine with seconds remaining on the clock, with Pompey given a penalty in injury time.

With more than 30,000 wild Yorkshire folk trying their best to put him off, it took some guts and guile from Lang to sink the spot-kick with so much on the line, and that sort of courage will be crucial in the season to come as Pompey look to compete on their return to the second tier.

John Mousinho sings the praises of Callum Lang after Leeds United display

With over 140 appearances for Wigan, as well as numerous EFL loan spells in his career, Lang has managed to find the back of the net wherever he has played, but after leaving the Latics seven months ago, he has matured into a top quality star, as boss Mousinho [pictured] eluded to in his post-match comments.

The Pompey boss said: “When Callum first signed for the club we were really excited about what he was going to bring.

“He scored and assisted on his debut against Oxford and also scored other goals which, ultimately, were a massive part in us winning the league last year.”

While the thunderbolt from distance was the eye-catching moment from his performance at Elland Road, Mousinho was more pleased with the composure he showed in the dying moments against Daniel Farke’s side, which is testament to his character when the heat was on.

He continued: “I am probably more pleased with the second goal for Callum because of the pressure he was under. I know the first goal was a better strike, but look at the pressure he was under for the second.

"It took 2-3 minutes to take the penalty and a huge amount of pressure. He got the ball, he wanted it, and that’s leadership we’re really grateful to have in Callum.

“Callum started off as a 10 and had to run around, it was mainly tracking Ethan Ampadu on the day, who is a superb player. We then put him as a nine when Christian (Saydee) came on and then we swapped them back again.

“He left everything out there. He gave everything for us and deserved his goals.”

It may only be early days, but Lang has already shown that he is more than capable of competing at the level, and Portsmouth have a gem on their hands who can do some serious damage to teams in the second tier in the season to come.