Happy birthday to diminutive playmaker and promotion winner, Alex Pritchard, who was born on this day in 1993.
He left Spurs permanently in 2016 following a mix of successful (Brentford and Swindon) and less-successful (Peterborough) loan spells. Pritch joined Championship side Norwich for a fee of around £8 million in August 2016. He arrived to much fanfare, but wasn’t able to help the Canaries win promotion back to the promised land.
In their 2017/18 Championship season, Pritchard made just nine appearances. He struggled a lot with injuries, and when January came he made it clear he wanted to leave.
Still just 24, Pritchard clearly had a lot of promise. He returned to the bright lights of the Premier League with Huddersfield Town. The positive for Norwich was that they’d manage to turn a profit on Pritch, who cost the Terriers £11 million.
It’s fair to say his time at Huddersfield was not what he expected. He signed under David Wagner, and would have expected to play a part in a long-term project at the John Smith’s Stadium. However, Wagner was sacked in 2019, and overall Pritchard played under three different managers during his time with the Terriers.
He became a figure of huge frustration after Huddersfield’s relegation in 2019. He tended to spend more time on the treatment table than the pitch, with fans claiming he was a lazy player with a bad attitude. From reports, Pritchard’s time at Huddersfield seems similar to the signing of Jack Rodwell at Sunderland...
In 2021, after running down his contract with Huddersfield, Pritchard came to Wearside on a free transfer. Fans were apprehensive of the signing at first. A down-hearted player in awful form, with an inconsistent injury record. It was a signing that we would have made in the Premier League, and reminded us of times we’d rather have forgotten.
Things got off to a slow start for Pritchard, who tested positive for Covid soon after his arrival. It meant he had no pre-season, and had barely spoken to any of his teammates since joining. However, Lee Johnson put his faith in Pritchard, praising the “sacrifices” he’d made to come down to League One.
His first start for the club came against AFC Wimbledon, showing glimpses of quality without creating anything of note. As the season wore on though, Pritchard quickly became one of our most influential players. His first goal for the club came with a curled effort away to Shrewsbury, and since then he’s gone from strength to strength.
Alex Pritchard secured four goals and nine assists, in is first season at the club. He also got both assists in Sunderland's 2-0 playoff final win over Wycombe Wanderers. Needless to say, he played a big role in getting the Lads to the Championship.
Pritchard has been in and out of the team this season, but he has still contributed to the side's success. He's one of the most experienced players in this young squad and his match intelligence has been really important at times throughout the year. Hopefully he can help us secure a play-off spot against Preston!
