Truth behind Portsmouth FC’s pursuit of Callum Lang replacement revealed | OneFootball

Free agent striker Dom Dwyer had been linked with a move to Pompey

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has revealed that former USA international striker and current free agent Dom Dwyer was training with the club in December with a view to a potential move to Fratton Park, but the club will not be signing him, despite recent reports of a deal being on the table.

Dwyer was born and raised in England, and spent time on Norwich City's books as a youngster before accepting a sports scholarship at Tyler Junior College in Texas in 2009 to try and further his career in the States.

He was soon drafted into the MLS by Sporting Kansas City, and spent five years as a regular scorer in the American top-flight for the Wizards while winning four caps for the USA national team after gaining citizenship in 2017.

The centre-forward became the most expensive sale in MLS history at the time when he joined Orlando City that same year for up to $1.6 million, and was again a relatively consistent scorer before another move to Toronto FC in 2021, then Atlanta United in 2022.

He spent a season as a free agent before a move to Oakland Roots in April last year, but left the USL side last month, and seemingly was already assessing his own options in English football ahead of a potential move, but will now not be joining Pompey this season at 34-years-old.

John Mousinho confirms Portsmouth stance on Dom Dwyer signing to replace Callum Lang

Portsmouth have improved as the Championship season has gone on over the last few months, and they currently sit 17th in the Championship, nine points from the relegation zone, so seem all-but-safe for another second-tier campaign under Mousinho.

They have, however, been dealt a huge blow in the last few days, with top-scorer Callum Lang now set to miss the remainder of the season with a torn hamstring.

Dwyer had previously been linked with a move to Fratton Park by journalist Ed Johnson on X, and while Pompey do have one space left in their squad to add a free agent and help ease the burden of Lang's injury, boss Mousinho has confirmed that the ex-USA international will not be joining his squad despite training at the club before the turn of the year.

"Dom trained with us just before Christmas, for three weeks, but there’s nothing in him signing for us," he told The News in the aftermath of his side's win over QPR on Saturday.

"We brought him in because we had a connection there and had picked up a couple of injuries to centre-forwards at the time. We were quite thin on the ground in terms of numbers around that time as well, so it was useful for training numbers and Dom was local.

"We gave him the opportunity to come in and train - I have been surprised that no-one has picked him up, at least in the league.

"We aren’t considering him, though. We are now looking at a centre-forward unit of Colby (Bishop), Kas (Yengi) - who is back from injury now, and Christian (Saydee), who came on against QPR.

"There is also Mark (O’Mahony), who we don’t think is far away after injury, and Tom (Waddingham) is there or thereabouts."

Portsmouth do not need to sign Dwyer at this late stage of the season

Pompey took a while to get going in the Championship following their impressive League One title-winning campaign last term, but they have made Fratton Park somewhat of a fortress since the turn of the year, and now look set to retain their second-tier status at a canter.

If Dwyer was being considered as an immediate signing before the turn of the year, that would have made a lot of sense, as there were still question marks over Colby Bishop's fitness at the time, while Kusini Yengi and Mark O'Mahony were both sidelined through injury, and Portsmouth looked set for a real battle to survive relegation.

Fast-forward to the present day, two months on, however, and things are looking a lot brighter with 12 games of the season left and Mousinho's side on a run of three consecutive wins over Cardiff City, Oxford United and QPR.

Despite Lang's injury being an obvious blow, it would feel like overkill to add Dwyer to their squad at this point, with all of their strikers now fit and New Zealand youth international Thomas Waddingham also added to the mix after a January move.

It would be a surprise to see any Championship team sign a free agent with such little of the campaign left to play, but Derby County did move to add Kemar Roofe to their squad last week in the midst of their relegation battle, so a possible second-tier move for Dwyer can still not be fully ruled out, but he will certainly not be joining Pompey anytime soon.