Alex Pritchard “couldn’t wait” to get out of Tottenham Hotspur

Now that he’s no longer a player at Tottenham Hotspur, Alex Pritchard has decided to open up about his exit, and throw a little shade towards his former club. Pritch, who signed for Norwich after a controversial last minute U-turn away from Brighton & Hove Albion, expressed his frustration with his inability to get first team minutes at Spurs, after coming up out of the club’s academy.

"It was a bit disappointing to finally leave Spurs,” said Pritch. “But in the end I couldn't wait to get out of there. They just never gave me a chance.”

It’s not especially nice to criticize the club that developed you, and some Tottenham fans are not likely to take these comments too kindly. However, it’s hard to say that Pritchard is wrong.

One year ago, he was coming off of a highly successful loan with Brentford in the Championship where he led the Bees to the cusp of promotion before bowing out in the playoffs. Pritch was highly regarded by the Tottenham coaching staff at the time and was seen as the heir apparent to Christian Eriksen. Last year was supposed to be his big chance.

The combination of a foot injury while on international duty at the U21 Euros and a disastrous spring 2016 loan to West Brom set back his career, and he never got that chance. By the time he was healthy again he was well behind in the first team, and the decision to sell him no doubt was both an irritation and a relief. So you can understand why Pritchard be upset about his prospects within Tottenham and ready to make his own path away from White Hart Lane.

Personally, I don’t blame him for being honest about his frustrations at Spurs. I’m very sorry that Spurs fans never really got a chance to see what he can do in a Tottenham shirt. That said, he’s landed on his feet at a club with ambitions to return to the Premier League, and I have every confidence that he can be a key player for Norwich City in the coming years.

Pritchard also expressed his apologies to Brighton and its supporters after making the last-second switch to Norwich City.

"It was just one of those things that happen in football. I had to make a choice because I can't play for both clubs.

"I was never actually close to signing for Brighton and all that matters is that I am a Norwich player now. So all I can do is apologize to Brighton."