'We wouldn't normally...' - Birmingham City dealt transfer blow by Sunderland

Birmingham City's chances of signing Alex Pritchard have dwindled after Sunderland offered him a new contract.

The Black Cats have gone against what they would usually do and have tried to sign Pritchard down to a deal in January. Kristjaan Speakman, who used to work for Blues in their academy, is Sunderland's sporting director.

Contract offers are usually made during March or April, when they have more of an idea as to what division they will be playing in next season. The Wearside club are just three points off of the play-offs and are hoping that Michael Beale can turn things around at the Stadium of Light.

An ongoing saga this month for Sunderland has been the future of Pritchard. He has been linked with a reunion to St Andrew's, as well as moves to Turkish outfit Sivasspor and MLS side Colorado Rapids. Beale - who was appointed as Mowbray's successor in December - has left the contract negotiations up to the boardroom but did signal his intention to keep hold of Pritchard, and he now looks like he'll get his wish.

“From Alex’s perspective, we’ve made the decision more recently to offer him an extension to his contract," said Speakman to our friends at the Sunderland Echo.

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.”

Pritchard worked under Mowbray during the pairs time together at Sunderland. A reunion could still be on the cards should Pritchard not agree terms but it seems Blues have moved on already. South Korean international Paik Seung-ho is expected to join in the coming days, having previously been a target for Sunderland. Seung-ho is a creative midfielder and plays in the same role as Pritchard, so unless Mowbray wanted further strength in depth, a move now seems off for Pritchard.