Spurs reject Brentford's attempt to sign Alex Pritchard on permanent deal

Another one of Spurs' rising academy stars is being coveted by a lower-league side, but Spurs aren't selling. Young midfielder Alex Pritchard is on a season-long loan at Brentford in the English Championship and is doing well there, good enough that the Bees would like to sign him on a permanent deal this January. According to the Mail, Tottenham have said no way.

Pritchard, 21, has been an important part of Brentford's Championship campaign this season, making 17 appearances in midfield for the Bees and scoring three goals. Brentford, who just promoted from League 1 this past season, are currently sixth in the Championship and are hoping to do well enough to make the promotion playoffs. Brentford fans have also noted Alex's contributions this season and would like to keep him.

Pritchard, an England U20 and U21 international, is a versatile midfielder who can operate as a #10 or in the center of midfield as a box-to-box player.

We've talked a lot about the Tottenham academy lately and with good reason. The past few youth team generations have produced some outstanding talent for Spurs: Andros Townsend, Steven Caulker, Ryan Mason, Tom Carroll, Harry Kane, Milos Veljkovic, Nabil Bentaleb, and Ryan Fredericks are all now either playing in the EPL or have gotten high profile Championship loans in recent seasons. In addition, players like Dominic Ball, Harry Winks, and Luke McGee have either been handed their first-team debuts or been included in matchday squads this season.

Combine this amount of young talent with a coach like Mauricio Pochettino who is known for getting the most out of youth players, and you have a recipe for success. After all, promoting and getting the best out of a youth player from your own academy certainly costs less than signing an established player. Arsenal have used this system to great effect throughout Arsene Wenger's tenure.

Of course, nobody really knows if Pritchard will be able to make the leap up to Premier League play in the future, but if the progress of players like Kane and Mason are any indication it's likely that when he returns to Spurs this summer he'll get his chance to impress.