Portsmouth FC still feeling effects of winning race for Stoke City, West Ham target | OneFootball

Pompey pulled off a phenomenal bit of business singing this talent developed in the lower leagues, and he could be the key to saving their season.

After returning to the Championship for the first time in over a decade, it's hardly been the ideal start for Portsmouth.

They currently sit in the relegation zone, although they have played the fewest amount of games in the division so far. This is after recent matches against Blackburn Rovers and Millwall were both postponed. The game at Ewood Park on 23 November was called off due to a waterlogged pitch from Storm Bert, but the clash against the Lions was called off, nearly an hour after it was due to start, because of a power cut at Fratton Park.

Although there is much room for improvement on the south coast, one man could become key to saving their season in the latter half. Paddy Lane has proved to be a cracking signing for Pompey so far, and the fact they were able to beat off interest from higher opposition shows there is still an attractiveness to play for the club despite its tumultuous history of the last 15 years.

Lane's journey from Hyde to Hampshire

Lane was born in Halifax but has represented Northern Ireland at international level, as his grandmother was born in Enniskillen. According to The News, he joined Blackburn when he was eight years old but was released aged 15 as he was deemed to be too small. However, he would go on to join Greater Manchester non-league outfit Hyde United's youth ranks, where he would begin his senior career.

After three years and a couple of loan spells at Farsley Celtic, Lane's talents were brought to the attention of Fleetwood Town, who signed him in 2021. The Cod Army are, of course, no stranger to a non-league fairytale. They famously plucked eventual Premier League and FA Cup winner Jamie Vardy from Stocksbridge Park Steels for £150,000 in 2011, before selling him to Leicester City for £1 million the following summer.

Lane impressed in his first season at Highbury, scoring five times and bagging eight assists in 37 League One appearances as the club narrowly avoided relegation. He was named League One's Young Player of the Season for the 2021/22 season - having only played football part-time twelve months beforehand.

He made a strong start to the 2022/23 season, which prompted Pompey to allegedly pay £250,000 for his services in the January transfer window. Lane had been a target for Championship side Stoke City, along with Premier League sides Brighton and Hove Albion and West Ham United, but turned them down in favour of a move to Fratton Park.

After a steady start to life on the south coast, he flourished in his first full season. He made 45 appearances for Pompey in all competitions across the 2023/24 season, scoring 12 goals and assisting seven. He was one an underrated workhorse among John Mousinho's side as they clinched the League One title.

Portsmouth reaping Lane's reward despite Championship standings

Although Lane - like Pompey - has made a quiet start to the 2024/25 season, there is no denying his talent. The fact the club were able to fend off interest from clubs higher in the English pyramid to secure Lane back in early 2023 said as much about him then as it does now.

His performances in blue only prove what these clubs saw in him, and once he is bedded into life in the second tier, it will be hard to stop him. He has impressed when he has played so far this season, even if the stats - especially compared to 2023/24 - don't tell the full story.

Nearly two years on and £250,000 for Lane's services continues to look like an absolute bargain. With many comparisons already to the story of Jamie Vardy - helped by his similar path from non-league to the Cod Army, he still has time on his side before he hits his peak. HE will be 24 come the end of the season, yet has already proved to be a win-win asset to Pompey.

If he continues on his current trajectory, it will be hard to look past the club surviving in the Championship, and if bigger clubs eventually come calling, it is almost guaranteed that Lane will recoup the quarter of a million spent on him - and then some!