Just when you thought footballers couldn't get any more stupid!
Did either Russell Martin or Pritchard give ANY thought to the fact that Norwich already had 8 or 9 attacking midfielders / No. 10s?
Pritchard had better hope his face fits with the new Norwich manager because not getting...
I think you've put two and two together and made five.
I'm sure the Albion were putting together both deals simultaneously and were hoping to get both. You don't find out late at night you've missed out on one player and have a replacement deal sorted within 24 hours.
The two players are...
Pritchard has shown what he can do in the Championship already with a standout season for Brentford. He is most definitely a £5m plus player and not a £2m-£3m player.
This one really grates because, as Ian Holloway predicted this week, there's a fair chance Norwich and Brighton will be...
Even if clubs, players and agents were minded to conform (and I don't think any of them are) if you create 2 transfer windows and force a frenzy of activity into a 48-hour window then you're going to get everyone involved cutting corners to get the deals done.
I jest. I still honestly believe that we will be in/around Top 6 all season but are one quality player short from being in a position to boss the division.
Alex Neil got relegated, his striking options are not great and he has 89 midfielders to keep happy so there is still much that can go...
Newcastle are spunking cash like Peter North on payday, Villa burn £12 mill on McCormack, Norwich hoover up Pritchard and add him to their Sheikh Mansoor-sized stable of midfielders that already includes Naismith, Hoolahan, Brady, Tettey, Mulumbu, Howson, Dorrans and Matt Jarvis.
The...
They might be if Norwich are simply posturing after the McCormack bid failure and Brighton turn their attention elsewhere.
Hypothetically, if Norwich got a sniff of a deal for a quality striker they might spend their money elsewhere and immediately drop their interest in Pritchard.
However...
I'm interested in Naylor's comment about an "illegal approach".
Illegal implies a rule being broken and to be effective rules need to be policed. If illegal approaches can be made with impunity it decreases the chances of clubs that don't have Prem riches being able to genuinely challenge...
For what it's worth - comment posted on the Pink'un Norwich message board 10 mins ago:
We are now in pole position acc to Sky and also via betting odds. Brighton deal collapsed
This would be an amazing signing, really amazing.
And just imagine if Solly March recovers and gets back to where he was prior to the injury! Knockaert, Pritchard and March with Kayal and Stephens behind is an automatic promotion midfield.