Will losing out on Alex Pritchard be detrimental to Brighton’s promotion chances?

The elusive number ten position, a modern phenomenon which breaches the space in-between the opposition’s midfield and back four, has created some of the world’s most sought after players.

It is no surprise that some of the greatest players in football history, Zinedine Zidane, Paul Gascoigne and Diego Maradona, are attackers who were able to effortlessly pick up this space in midfield.

In the English second division, there are not many better at playing this role than Alex Pritchard.

His loan spells at Swindon Town, Peterborough United and most notably at Brentford have highlighted the reason why Norwich City had to part with a reported £9m fee in order to acquire his services from the notoriously hard negotiator that is Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman.

Pritchard is a former England Under-21 international – Photo: Offside/Witters.

Pritchard, now 23-years-old and hungrier than ever after his failed loan move to West Bromwich Albion in the fleeting months at the tail end of last season, would have been a golden ticket signing to grace the Amex turf.

Developed over seven years at Spurs’ Enfield training centre, the midfielder has an innate ability which is akin to one of England’s greatest ever players in Gascoigne, to shift the ball effortlessly onto either foot in order to either beat a man or pick a pass.

A transfer fee, reportedly for a sum less than the one which would eventually see him transferred, was agreed between the two sides who share a healthy relationship due to the past employment in North London of both manager Chris Hughton and chief executive Paul Barber – but the Norfolk club’s personal financial package was one too good for the Essex-born star to turn down.

For boss Hughton, it is clear he seeks a player with particular credentials to fill the missing piece of the jigsaw.

He must possess good pace, be two-footed and lean while most importantly be able to chip in with his share of goals to ease the pressure on the totem striker – being 17-goal Tomer Hemed or Bournemouth loanee Glenn Murray.

These characteristics for the number ten are all shared between Pritchard, Ecuadorian international Miller Bolanos and Jonathan Calleri, who is currently with Argentina in Brazil for the Olympic Games.

These two South Americans are the only other two deep-lying strikers to be linked to the south coast over the past year – and both would only have been available for a substantial fee of around £8m.

The hole which Hughton is trying to fill is that off Joao Teixeira, a former Liverpool loanee who moved to FC Porto for a measly £250,000 during the summer.

Although Teixeira wasn’t the first name on the team sheet as Hughton guided the Albion away from the relegation zone which another former Red, in Fin Sami Hyypia, had left them in before his departure by mutual consent shortly before Christmas in 2014, he did add a different way of playing.

The failure to capture Pritchard has also highlighted how Brighton, as far as they’ve come from the doldrums which was the converted running track of the Withdean Stadium, cannot compete with the financial clout that reigns down from the relegated trio of Norwich, Newcastle United and Aston Villa.

Brighton boss Hughton (Right) lost out on Pritchard’s signature to former club Norwich – Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

By beating Brighton to the signing, Norwich have confirmed themselves at the top of the footballing hierarchy in the Championship, while Newcastle have also looked to un-nerve their rivals with a £10m bid for Anthony Knockaert, which was rejected.

The Seagulls have been in a troubled place since their play-off heartache against Sheffield Wednesday back in May, one which meant they had reached the play-offs three times in four years without progressing.

Knockaert, Dale Stephens, who is currently refusing to sign a new contract, and Lewis Dunk, who himself only signed a new contract last summer after previously handing in a transfer request such was his determination to leave, are all to possibly depart the club.

Reports on Monday suggested a deal with Premier League newcomers Burnley was all but tied up for Rochdale-born Stephens.

For Dunk, his talents have resulted in a firm but undisclosed offer from arch rivals Crystal Palace being rejected, while interest from West Brom litters the sports section of the daily red tops.

Yet, not only did the transfer of Pritchard mean that the Albion didn’t strengthen, it also proved to their players that they can’t attract the very best that is on offer to them.

With that damming reflection of the stature of the club in mind, it is clear that this saga has caused a critical blow to the football club.

It is now down to Bloom, Barber and Hughton to ensure that they use the next three weeks to make sure that this critical blow does not become fatal in Brighton’s attempt to return to the summit of English football for the first time in 33 years.