Callum Lang, a 2017 graduate of the Wigan Athletic academy, spent time at Morecambe, Oldham, Shrewsbury, and Motherwell during his loan stints as a senior player with the Latics.
But the attacker was reinserted into the starting lineup at DW Stadium by January 2021, when the Latics were under new management and in dire need of a hero.
Lang scored nine goals in 23 games in the second half of the 2020–21 season, narrowly saving his team from League Two relegation.
The following season, he went on to score 15 goals and dish out seven assists as the Greater Manchester team, then coached by Leam Richardson, won League One.
However, following the Latics’ successful promotion, Lang found it difficult to establish himself in the Championship during a dismal 2022–2023 season that saw his team demoted due to financial problems and point deductions.
Lang made four assists but only one goal in the 2022–2023 season as his team immediately returned to League One after one season of promotion.
The forward’s confidence appears to have been affected by this unsuccessful campaign, as he managed just two goals in 23 League One appearances earlier this season.
Due to his dismal performance, Lang’s best option was to start over in a new environment. As a result, he signed a contract with Portsmouth, the leaders of the third division, during the January transfer window.
Lang’s transfer has been a success
Pompey had hoped that the ace would be able to reclaim the kind of goal-scoring form he had displayed for the Latics in the 2021–2022 season after joining the Hampshire team.
And in just nine games with his new team, the 25-year-old has accomplished exactly that, giving John Mousinho’s team a much-needed boost with four goals and one assist.
But the former Wigan player was hurt last month after a match on March 9 against Blackpool, and he wasn’t able to play again until Saturday against Bolton Wanderers, another team vying for promotion.
Given the Latics and Wanderers’ rivalry, Lang was probably looking forward to his first visit to the Toughsheet Community Stadium with Pompey.
Lang’s antics on Saturday will be loved by Latics fans
In the 58th minute of Pompey’s trip to Wanderers, Mousinho made three substitutions, replacing Christian Saydee with Lang.
With the score tied at one, Lang made it clear that the visitors were content with a point, especially considering Pompey’s dominant standing at the top of the league.
The forward took his time leaving the pitch, pausing to thank the visiting Pompey supporters despite being jeered by the home crowd because of his Latics affiliation, before meeting up with defender Eoin Toal of the Wanderers.
The DW Stadium faithful will be thrilled with Lang’s antics because they demonstrated that, even after leaving in January, he still has affection for his old team and obviously enjoyed putting the Wanderers supporters to sleep.
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