Tony Mowbray is very surprised that Alex Pritchard wasn’t snapped up this summer.
Speaking following transfer deadline day, the Sunderland boss admitted that he will have to ‘have chats’ with the midfielder after he failed to secure a move away.
After scoring four goals and providing seven assists in 47 appearances in the Championship last season, Pritchard has found his game-time limited this time round.
The arrivals of Jobe Bellingham and Bradley Dack has meant that the 30-year-old has only played around 90 minutes of league football this season and he was fully expected to leave Wearside during the summer transfer window.
While Lynden Gooch and Danny Batth both left the club after being told their contract wouldn’t be extended beyond next summer, Pritchard found himself still in red and white beyond last week’s deadline.
Mowbray had already confirmed that the midfielder would likely leave Wearside during the window, while he had been heavily linked with a reunion with Alex Neil at Stoke City.
However, he remains available for Sunderland and Mowbray was left shocked by the little interest in his signature.
What happens to Alex Pritchard now?
“The discussion over Pritch, the quality – you see with your eyes what I see with mine,” Mowbray said.
“He gets the ball, he sticks it through someone’s legs, he hits a 40-yard diagonal ball, and we’re off away breaking in on goal and not everybody can do that.
“We have to get that balance of how the team looks, I think. Yet you can’t stifle Chris Rigg or Abdoullah Ba or Jewison Bennette, we need to give them gametime if they are ever going to grow into the footballers that this club hope they are going to be.
“I can’t constantly think I have to play Pritchard, I have to play Dack – these kids need a game.
“I hope you feel what I feel – I’ve told Kristjaan, the club know, I have to love my players.
“They have to feel that I care about their lives and career and kids and wives and families. I care about them. That’s why I’m happy for Danny Batth. If they’re not going to play, they should go and get on with their career. It’s the same with Goochy.
“What a decision for Gooch to leave this club, it’s unbelievable. But if he gets more security and thinks he has a better chance of playing then good luck to him.
“Alex, we will have chats. We have lots of chats already to be honest. What a good footballer he is.
“I’m just amazed the phone hasn’t rang as much as it might have done because he’s a wonderful footballer. We have to try and maximise his time on the pitch but also grow the young players that I’m talking about.”