30-year-old set to leave Sunderland

Alex Pritchard appears to be out of favour at the Stadium of Light with Sunderland adding a whole host of young talents

Alex Pritchard is all but on his way out of Sunderland after boss Tony Mowbray admitted he doesn’t see a future at the club for the midfielder.

Pritchard, who has featured in both of Sunderland’s Championship games off the bench, looks to be behind others in the pecking order – which means that he is at a cross roads in his Black Cats career.

With the deadline looming, that has seemingly paved the way for an exit – and Tony Mowbray has confirmed that there seems to be little hope for Pritchard at resurrecting his Sunderland career.

What did Tony Mowbray say about Alex Pritchard’s future at Sunderland?

Mowbray, speaking ahead of Sunderland’s game against Rotherham United on Saturday, admitted that Pritchard was likely to leave the club before the summer window closed. He said via the Northern Echo: “I like Pritch. Pritch is a good player.

“I don’t want to get too prescriptive about it, but it looks like Pritch is going to leave the football club. We have to move past that, we have to move on – that’s football.

“Every footballer understands it is a transient game. I got a testimonial at Middlesbrough – I was there 12 years – but that’s very, very rare in modern-day football. Footballers come and then they move on, and supporters understand that.

“Alex’s situation is a little bit more complicated than I can discuss openly. He’s a good football player, but there is a fair percentage (likelihood) that he will leave the football club in the next few weeks. If he doesn’t, then we can have more discussions after the window shuts.”

Why is Alex Pritchard leaving Sunderland?

Despite two solid seasons for the Black Cats, which included promotion via the League One play-offs in the 2021/22 season and qualifying for last season’s Championship play-offs, it appears he is likely to leave.

Logistically, that is down to the new transfer strategy that the club has brought in. Bar Bradley Dack signing on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers – a player that Tony Mowbray knows well from his time at Ewood Park – the Wearside outfit have signed Jobe Bellingham, Jewison Bennette, Abdoullah Ba and Pierre Ekwah in the last year. This has inevitably pushed the older, more experienced players down the ranks, and if they can replicate loans such as Amad Diallo and Edouard Michut’s in the coming weeks, there will be admittedly no place for Pritchard in the side.

It’s a sad reality for the midfielder, but with Elliot Embleton, Dan Neil and prodigy Chris Rigg in the mix too, the Black Cats are going for a youth approach and it sees Pritchard looking for a new club.

Who is likely to play in Alex Pritchard’s place?

Out of any of the candidates, Embleton is likely to be the man to step up in Pritchard’s place.

The youth academy product made a huge impression for Sunderland in Pritchard’s time at the club, and being six years his junior, it makes financial sense to depart with the Tottenham academy product.

It will see Dack come into the side from time to time, whilst Rigg will get the chance to impress despite