£5m claims made on Portsmouth FC stars Colby Bishop and Callum Lang in transfer debate | OneFootball

FLW's Portsmouth fan pundit shared his view on the club's three most valuable assets

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Callum Lang, Josh Murphy and Colby Bishop have been name-dropped as Portsmouth's three most valuable assets ahead of the summer transfer window, where John Mousinho will surely have designs on retaining the trio.

Portsmouth, who gained promotion from League One as champions last year, have spent much of the current campaign fighting against relegation in the Championship. But that hasn't prevented a number of players from catching the eye at Fratton Park.

Lang was Portsmouth's star man during the first half of the season. The attacking midfielder instantly announced himself by scoring a brace in Pompey's dramatic 3-3 opening day draw away at Leeds United and has registered ten strikes overall, including a four-goal haul to inspire his side's 4-1 rout of Coventry City back in December.

However, he is now sidelined with a hamstring injury for the remainder of the campaign, opening the door for others to step up in his absence. One of those players is Josh Murphy, who has been among the best wingers in the Championship this season with six goals and 10 assists under his belt after arriving from Oxford United.

The mercurial winger has enjoyed arguably the finest form of his career on the south coast this term, producing an array of match-winning displays since the turn of the year in particular.

Meanwhile, Colby Bishop, who missed the start of the season after undertaking successful heart surgery, has made a commendable comeback by scoring seven league goals for Pompey.

Last month, Bishop penned a new contract that will now keep him in Portsmouth until 2028, and while the club may not fear losing his services as a result, he's still a mightily-important figure who has been labeled as one of his side's most valuable assets, too.

Callum Lang was Portsmouth FC's most valuable asset before his injury

FLW asked our resident Pompey fan pundit, Miltos Ioannidis, to name the one player at his club he believes could be sold for the most money and just what price tag could potentially be commanded.

Miltos stopped short of naming just one player and discussed Lang, along with both Murphy and Bishop. He explained how Lang would have been a definite answer before his season-ending injury, and claims the 26-year-old could be sold for £5 million in what he believes is an inflated second-tier market.

"If you had posed the same exact question to me a few months ago, I would only have one single player's name on my mind as to who our most valuable asset is," Miltos told FLW.

"That player would be Callum Lang, who I thought - before his very unfortunate injury - had a phenomenal first season in the Championship for a not so good Portsmouth side.

"He managed to score 10 goals and assisted a bunch more in what I think was 29 appearances. It was a very respectable return for a player who had his first proper experience of Championship football with Pompey.

"He obviously played in the Championship before with Wigan but wasn't that good, this season has been the breakout for Lang. Despite his injury, I still think a player with the profile of Lang in today's inflated market would probably go for around £5 million.

"A club could maybe even pay more than that, Lang is now entering his best age, he's enjoying his time here and it would take a pretty hefty price tag to prize him away from the club.

Josh Murphy and Colby Bishop are also valuable Portsmouth FC assets

However, with the likes of Murphy and Bishop both stepping up in the final third amid Lang's absence, Miltos believes the pair are also extremely valuable.

Miltos did not name a price tag for Murphy, who formerly joined Cardiff City for £11 million back in 2018 but recently celebrated his 30th birthday. However, he remains in little doubt of the pacey winger's quality and importance and believes Bishop could command a similar fee to Lang.

"Like I said, if you had asked me this question a few months ago I would tell you Lang. However, over these last few months and especially since Lang got injured, there have been a few other players that have managed to successfully step-up their game like Josh Murphy," Miltos continued.

"Don't get me wrong, Murphy was really, really good even prior to Lang's injury, but he really took his game to new heights with his goals and assists. I don't think Murphy would ever go for more money than Lang.

"The number one reason is his age - he very recently turned 30, so logic says the money a club would put on the table for him would not be that much compared to a 26-year-old like Lang.

"Also, based on his history both with injuries and his history at this level and above that he's not had the success he was tipped to have but is now having with Pompey.

I hope Murphy stays at Pompey, he's been one of the best wingers in the Championship this season.

"Another player who has managed to really step-up and is one of the most complete players at this level in my opinion is Colby Bishop. A player with the profile of Bishop would probably go for £5 million as well.

"The thing with Bishop and what makes me confident there will be no risk of us selling him is that he's very, very recently signed a new contract. If a top-tier Championship club were to want Bishop, they would need to pay a pretty large chunk of money to get him.

"The contract he's recently signed increases his value, there is no doubt about that.