Ex-Huddersfield Town and Brentford man 'heading' to Birmingham City after Sunderland decision

The 30-year-old hit the headlines over the weekend, when he withdrew his availability at Sunderland and expressed his desire to leave the club.

Links with Birmingham followed immediately, with his former Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray now at the helm at St. Andrew’s. According to transfer reporter Alan Nixon on his Patreon page, Pritchard is now heading to Birmingham.

A nominal fee is said to have been agreed for the experienced playmaker, who will reportedly put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Pritchard is in the final six months of his Sunderland contract and had been offered fresh terms at the Stadium of Light.

As reported by Sports Illustrated, Sunderland’s sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: "From Alex’s perspective, we’ve made the decision more recently to offer him an extension to his contract. We wouldn’t normally do that because we’d normally do that as part of our succession planning somewhere around March or April time.

"But we just felt that in conversations with him, that was something we probably needed to do because of the situation and where his head was at more than anything. I think that’s the right thing for the football club to do, and he is in a really good position. He’s in the team, and I’m sure he’s happy.”

However, it has been reported that the offer tabled was not as attractive as the one has been given by Birmingham. The contract offered by the Blues is said to be longer with greater financial incentives.

Pritchard joined Sunderland in 2021, making the move from Huddersfield after a largely forgettable stay at the John Smith’s Stadium.