Alex Pritchard’s imminent Sunderland exit feels like an act of self-sabotage

I suppose we were warned, weren’t we?

Huddersfield fans painted us a picture of a stroppy and unprofessional waster who cost the club close to a £15 million transfer fee and spent his time in Yorkshire struggling with injuries and being labelled a bad influence by a string of coaches and the owner.

By contrast, Alex Pritchard’s time at Sunderland had, until recently, been something of a success.

He contributed four goals and eight assists in League One as we ended our four-year exile and returned to the Championship.

He’s also made sixty five appearances in the second tier, contributing sixteen goal involvements, and he scored a belter in a win against Preston on New Year’s Day.

Despite struggling to cement a starting berth early in the season, the bond between Pritchard and the fans seemed as strong as ever, with repeated calls for his inclusion as Sunderland tried to settle on an attacking quartet under Tony Mowbray.

The tone of the statement was cold and clinical, laying out the facts that Pritchard himself had withdrawn from the squad and future selection, and wished to leave the club. No room for ambiguity there on who was responsible for the decision.

Married with the fact that Kristjaan Speakman confirmed just days prior that the diminutive midfielder had been offered a one year extension at Sunderland, you can start to work out what may have gone on behind the scenes.

Pritchard is now edging towards the wrong side of thirty, the club has gone all-in on investing in youth, he’d had limited league starts early in the season, and had now been presented with a last-minute extension offer.

Then came the club statement before kick off against Stoke, reminiscent of a ‘Comunicado Oficial’ from Real Madrid in its ominous brevity.

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