Alex Pritchard offered new Sunderland deal - Kristjaan Speakman

Sunderland now want to keep Alex Pritchard at the club, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman has confirmed.

Sunderland have decided to offer Alex Pritchard a new contract, with Kristjaan Speakman describing the midfielder as ‘integral.’

Pritchard’s current deal expires at the end of the season but he has been one of the club’s top performers this campaign.

Reports have linked him with moves to Sivasspor, Como, Birmingham City and Chicago Fire, and he looked almost certain to follow other experienced heads such as Danny Batth and Lynden Gooch out the door either this month or when his contract expired in the summer.

Sunderland, though, have now had a rethink, and Speakman says a new deal is in the offering for the 30-year-old.

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“From my perspective, Alex has been an absolutely integral part of getting us to where we are in the Championship, in a really good position," Speakman said.

"He’s a really important player for the group, and I’m really pleased that he’s got back in the team. He wasn’t in the team for a little bit, but he’s back in the team now. His contract is up at the end of the season.

“With every player, there’s questions about whether they will be staying or going in every window because we’ve got top players.

"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.”

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