Swindon Town confirm one-year loan deal for Alex Pritchard, permanent transfer for Nathan Byrne

As per rumours which have prevailed over the last few weeks, 20 year-old attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard and 21 year-old right back Nathan Byrne have today become the fourth and fifth Spurs players to join Swindon Town during this offseason- the former on a year-long loan and the latter on a full transfer.

The moves come off the back of a successful if injury-hampered spell at Peterborough United for Pritchard and a prior spell at the County Ground for Byrne last season. Both youngsters will now link up for the next year with former Spurs Academy peers Jack Barthram, who has joined the club on a permanent basis after being released, and Massimo Luongo and Grant Hall who are both on season-long loans.

It's important to note when trying to form a take these pieces of news that there are close connections between certain members of the Swindon and Spurs hierarchies which have come to the surface as the unofficial partnership has bloomed this year. Director Lee Power is apparently close friends with our youth co-ordinator Tim Sherwood and Swindon manager Kevin MacDonald is rumoured to have nearly once taken on a role at the Spurs Academy.

Hopefully, these ties and open lines of communication, along with the deal sweetener of Swindon seemingly getting a first look at our released youngsters, should ensure that our loanees receive a joined-up and carefully-planned year of first-team experience. It's always hard to shake the feelings of frustration, however, when you watch youngsters who you had thought were primed for continually bigger things yo-yo between leagues during crucial years in their development.

Best of luck, in any case, to Pritchard and Byrne for the season ahead.

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