Alex Pritchard

Alex Pritchard
Personal information
Full nameAlex David Pritchard[1]
Date of birth3 May 1993
Place of birthOrsett, England
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing positionAttacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Brentford
(on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
Number21
Youth career
–2009West Ham United
2009–2012Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2011–Tottenham Hotspur1(0)
2013→ Peterborough United (loan)6(0)
2013–2014→ Swindon Town (loan)36(6)
2014–→ Brentford (loan)44(11)
National team‡
2013England U203(0)
2014–England U216(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:45, 25 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Alex David Pritchard (born 3 May 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Brentford on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. He has represented England at U20 and U21 level.

Career

Tottenham Hotspur

Pritchard began his career in the academy at West Ham United, before transferring to the youth setup at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in June 2009.[3] Pritchard quickly established himself in the U18 team.[3] He received his maiden call into the first team squad for a UEFA Europa League group stage game versus PAOK FC on 15 September 2011.[4] Awarded the number 54 shirt, he remained on the bench for the 0–0 draw.[5] He was called up for another Europa League group match versus Rubin Kazan on 3 November, again remaining on the bench.[6] Pritchard made an impact in the 2011–12 NextGen Series, where he ended up top-scorer for Spurs with four goals, three of which came against the eventual winners Inter Milan. Pritchard courted transfer interest from Premier League side Queens Park Rangers in April 2012.[7] Pritchard added another four goals in the 2012–13 edition of the NextGen Series, one of which came in a particularly notable 4–1 away victory against Barcelona,[8] bringing his tally to eight goals in 11 NextGen Series appearances.[9] Following Pritchard's NextGen Series performances and with only half a year remaining on his contract, there was speculation that Spanish sides Real Madrid and Barcelona would attempt to sign him.[10] Liverpool (with Pritchard's former Tottenham U18 manager Alex Inglethorpe on their staff) were also reported to be interested,[11] but Pritchard ended the speculation when he signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal with Spurs on 31 January 2013.[12] Pritchard also appeared for Tottenham's U21 team during the 2012–13 season, scoring five goals in 11 appearances to help the U21s to the U21 Premier League knockout stage final against Manchester United. Pritchard scored Tottenham's second goal and was substituted after 64 minutes for Kenneth McEvoy in the 3–2 defeat.[13]

After spending the majority of the 2013–14 season out on loan, Pritchard received his first call into the first team squad in two-and-a-half years when he was named as a substitute for a Premier League match versus his former side West Ham United on 3 May 2014.[14] Allotted the number 39 shirt, he remained on the bench for the 2–0 defeat.[15] Pritchard was called up again for the final game of the season against Aston Villa and made his debut for the club when he replaced Gylfi Sigurðsson after 83 minutes of the 3–0 win.[16] After the match, he said "it was good to get my Spurs debut under my belt and to play alongside top quality players. It was a great way to finish the season and hopefully next year I can push on again and get even more game time".[17] In July 2014, Pritchard agreed a new contract which will keep him at White Hart Lane until the summer of 2016.[18] He departed Tottenham on a loan for the duration of the 2014/15 season.[19]

Peterborough United (loan)

On 31 January 2013, Pritchard signed on loan with Championship side Peterborough United until the end of the 2012–13 season.[12] He had scored four goals for the Tottenham Development Squad in an 8–1 victory over Peterborough on 15 January.[20] Awarded the number 33 shirt, Pritchard was named on the bench for a league match versus Burnley two days later.[21] He made his professional debut when he replaced Nathaniel Knight-Percival after 55 minutes of the 1–0 defeat.[22] He came on again as a substitute in the following game against Leicester City, but lasted just 16 minutes before suffering torn ligaments in his ankle.[21][23] Pritchard returned to Tottenham Hotspur for treatment and didn't appear again for the Posh until a late cameo in a 3–2 victory over Watford on 13 April.[21] He made just six appearances for the club before returning to White Hart Lane at the end of the season.[24]

Swindon Town (loan)

On 9 July 2013, Pritchard joined League One side Swindon Town on a season long loan deal,[25] linking up with fellow Tottenham loanees Massimo Luongo, Grant Hall, Ryan Mason and former teammates Nathan Byrne and Jack Barthram at the County Ground.[26] Wearing the number 11 shirt, Pritchard scored his first goal for the club on 27 August, in a 2–0 win against Queens Park Rangers in the League Cup second round.[27] Pritchard's form led to interest from Championship sides Huddersfield Town, Blackburn Rovers and League One leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2013.[28] Pritchard was sent off for the first time in his career in a league match versus Bristol City on 15 March, receiving a straight red card for a shove on Wade Elliott.[29] Earlier in the season, manager Mark Cooper stated that Pritchard would need to "curb his temper", after he picked up five bookings in seven league matches.[30] Pritchard won rave reviews for his performances during the season, receiving nominations for the League One Player of the Year and Football League Young Player of the Year awards.[31][32] Of the nominations, he said "I’m absolutely chuffed to be nominated, I’ve worked hard all season and with the amount of players of my age doing so well, it’s great to get that recognition".[33] Pritchard was a key player for Swindon over the course of the 2013–14 season, making 44 appearances and scoring eight goals.[34] Looking back on his time with the Robins, Pritchard said "it was great for me to be playing first team football at Swindon this season, I needed to get out and play competitively and I loved every minute of it".[17]

Brentford (loan)

After transfer interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic,[35] Pritchard signed for Championship side Brentford on a season-long loan on 17 July 2014.[19] Manager Mark Warburton (who helped create the now-defunct NextGen Series) said Pritchard "is very good tactically and technically with excellent dead ball delivery. He showed his quality while he was on loan at Swindon last year. Alex will add to the quality in our squad".[19] Pritchard scored two goals in a 3–2 pre-season friendly victory over Nice at Griffin Park on 26 July.[36] He made his competitive debut for the club on the opening day of the 2014–15 season, lasting 79 minutes of a 1–1 draw with Charlton Athletic before being replaced by Tommy Smith.[37] Pritchard scored his first competitive goal for the Bees with the equaliser in a 2–1 victory over Blackpool on 19 August.[38] He scored his second goal a 3–1 win over Reading on 4 October, slotting the ball through Adam Federici's legs after Andre Gray had slipped.[39] Just prior to the opening of the January transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur turned down a permanent transfer bid for Pritchard.[40] On 24 January 2015, Pritchard's performance and winning penalty in a 2–1 win over Norwich City earned him a place in the Football League Team of the Week.[41] Another good performance and a goal in a 3–1 victory over Bournemouth in late February saw him named in the Football League Team of the Week for the second time of the season.[42] Pritchard won much recognition for his performances during the 2014–15 season, winning a place in the Championship PFA Team of the Year,[43] the Brentford Irish Supporters Club Player of the Year award and a nomination for the London Football Awards Young Player of the Year award.[44][45] He was named eighth best Championship player and one of the top 20 players in the Football League at the 2015 Football League Awards and by FourFourTwo magazine respectively.[46][47]

International career

On 27 May 2013, Pritchard was named in manager Peter Taylor's 21-man squad for the 2013 U20 World Cup.[48] He made his debut on 16 June, in a 3–0 pre-tournament friendly win over Uruguay.[49] He made two appearances in the group stage of the U20 World Cup, against Chile and Egypt. Pritchard received his first call into the U21 squad on 28 August 2014 and made his debut in a 1–0 2015 European U21 Championship qualifying victory over Lithuania on 5 September, coming on for Nathan Redmond after 79 minutes.[50][51] Pritchard made his first U21 start on his fourth cap, starting in a friendly versus France on 17 November.[52] He was replaced by Danny Ings at half time during the 3–2 defeat.[53] In mid-December, Pritchard received a 2014 England U21 Player of the Year award nomination.[54]

Personal life

Pritchard was born in the village of Orsett, and grew up in Thurrock, Essex.[55] He attended Belhus Chase Specialist Humanities College in Aveley prior to signing for West Ham United.[56]

Honours

Career statistics

As of match played 25 April 2015.[57]
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tottenham Hotspur 2011–12[58] Premier League 0000000000
2013–14[34] Premier League 10——0010
Total 1000000010
Peterborough United (loan) 2012–13[24] Championship 60———60
Swindon Town (loan) 2013–14[34] League One 36610314[lower-alpha 1]1448
Brentford (loan) 2014–15[59] Championship 44110000—4411
Career total 87171031419519
  1. ↑ Appearances in Football League Trophy

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 2 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile Alex Pritchard". Premier League. Barclays Premier League. 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 September 14, 2012 14:36 BST (2012-09-14). "The Young Tottenham Trio That Can Challenge for First Team Football". Ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  4. ↑ "Espn Fc". Espn Fc. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  5. ↑ Hassan, Nabil (2011-09-15). "BBC Sport – PAOK 0–0 Tottenham". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  6. ↑ Bevan, Chris (2011-11-03). "BBC Sport – Rubin Kazan 1–0 Tottenham". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  7. ↑ "Tottenham reject QPR bid for Alex Pritchard – Daily Mail Online". Mail Online. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "BARCA U19S 1–4 SPURS – SHAQ FIRES LADS TO STUNNING WIN IN NEXTGEN". tottenhamhotspur.com. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Alex Pritchard: Villas-Boas' youth dilemma". ESPN.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Spurs youngsters Alex Pritchard and Shaquille Coulthirst targeted by Real Madrid and Barcelona". metro.co.uk. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Liverpool could snap up Tottenham's Alex Pritchard". standard.co.uk. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Pritchard Joins From Spurs". theposh.com. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  13. ↑ Chase, Graham (2013-05-20). "Manchester United 3 Tottenham 2: Reds win Under 21 Premier League final after dramatic comeback at Old Trafford | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  14. ↑ "Espn Fc". Espn Fc. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  15. ↑ "West Ham United 2–0 Tottenham Hotspur" BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  16. ↑ Magowan, Alistair (2014-05-11). "BBC Sport – Tottenham Hotspur 3–0 Aston Villa". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Debut caps fine campaign for Pritchard 14 May 2014 – News". tottenhamhotspur.com. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  18. ↑ "New deal for Pritchard / Brentford loan 17 July 2014 – News". tottenhamhotspur.com. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Brentford complete the loan signing of Alex Pritchard from Tottenham Hotspur". Brentfordfc.co.uk. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  20. ↑ "Development Squad 8–1 Peterborough: Pritchard grabs four in superb win". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Espn Fc". Espn Fc. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  22. ↑ Peterborough 2 Rowe 65′, 69′ (2013-02-02). "BBC Sport – Peterborough 2–2 Burnley". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  23. ↑ "BBC Sport – Peterborough United suffer from Alex Pritchard injury". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Alex Pritchard | Football Stats | Tottenham Hotspur | Season 2012/2013". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  25. ↑ "Tottenham pair sign as two added to board". BBC Sport. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  26. ↑ "BBC Sport – Swindon Town: Tottenham's Ryan Mason signs loan deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "QPR 0–2 Swindon" BBC Sport. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  28. ↑ Sam Morshead. "Town survive the transfer window as star players stay put". This Is Swindon Town FC. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  29. ↑ Mitchell, Brendon (2014-03-15). "BBC Sport – Bristol City 0–0 Swindon Town". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  30. ↑ "Why is Tottenham's Alex Pritchard in trouble at Swindon?". Here Is The City. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  31. ↑ "Sky Bet League One: Adam Forshaw, Kevin McDonald and Alex Pritchard up for player prize | Football News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  32. ↑ "Football League: Will Hughes, Liam Moore and Alex Pritchard on Young Player shortlist | Football News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  33. ↑ "Pritchard's pride 15 March 2014 – News". tottenhamhotspur.com. 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 "Alex Pritchard | Football Stats | Tottenham Hotspur | Season 2013/2014". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  35. ↑ Howell, Bill (2014-06-12). "Wolverhampton Wanderers transfer news: Tottenham Hotspur youngster on Kenny Jackett's radar". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2014-07-19.
  36. ↑ Chris Wickham. "Match report as Brentford beat OGC Nice in pre-season friendly at Griffin Park". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  37. ↑ "BBC Sport – Brentford 1–1 Charlton Athletic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  38. ↑ "BBC Sport – Blackpool 1–2 Brentford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  39. ↑ "BBC Sport – Brentford 3–1 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  40. ↑ "Tottenham spurn Brentford's attempt to turn Alex Pritchard's loan into a permanent deal – Daily Mail Online". Mail Online. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/alex-pritchard-football-league-team-of-the-week-2228090.aspx
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 http://www.football-league.co.uk/news/article/2015/sky-bet-football-league-team-of-the-week-2290744.aspx
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/troy-deeney-and-alex-pritchard-star-but-chelsea-loanee-patrick-bamford-misses-out-the-pfa-championship-team-of-the-year-10204917.html
  44. ↑ http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/alex-pritchard-irish-player-of-the-year-2014-15-award-2417791.aspx
  45. ↑ http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/brentford-london-football-awards-nominations-2298325.aspx
  46. ↑ http://www.football-league.co.uk/news/article/2015/sky-bet-championship-player-of-the-year-vote-the-top-10-2418695.aspx
  47. ↑ http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/brentford-duo-in-fourfourtwo-top-50-football-league-2414790.aspx
  48. ↑ "Final squad named" TheFA.com. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  49. ↑ "Training win for Three Lions" TheFA.com. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  50. ↑ Chris Wickham. "Brentford attacking midfield player Alex Pritchard named in England Under-21 squad". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  51. ↑ Ciaran Brett. "Alex Pritchard England Under 21 Lithuania". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  52. ↑ Chris Wickham. "Brentford attacking midfield player Alex Pritchard plays for England's Under-21 side against France". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  53. ↑ The Football Association. "France 3–2 England: Under-21 International match report – England – The FA". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  54. ↑ The Football Association. "England Under-21s Player of the Year contender: Alex Pritchard – England – The FA". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  55. ↑ "How good is Tottenham Hotspur's NextGen Series star Alex Pritchard?". hereisthecity.com. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  56. ↑ "Ormiston Alex's star on the rise for Tottenham". yourthurrock.com. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  57. ↑ http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=62298
  58. ↑ "Games played by Alex Pritchard in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  59. ↑ "Games played by Alex Pritchard in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 April 2015.

External links